Polished Honing Steel?

M

maskedbacon

Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Messages
52
Hi guys,

I've been reading up on knife sharpening and maintenance, and it seems like I should pick up a polished steel rod for general kitchen usage (and otherwise). I currently sharpen my own stuff with a Spyderco Sharpmaker and never realized the value of making sure to steel your knives regularly, so I'm trying to get into good habits :)

On Amazon I've found...

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Ho...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1294098738&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Mundial-1301-...3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1294098738&sr=8-3

... and...

http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Packingh...?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1294098803&sr=1-33

Is it OK to get something as cheap as these are? Would you recommend another product (or material, like glass)?

Thanks dudes! It's nice to be a part of your forum :)
 
No. I think that this community is less kitchen knife oriented (although good kitchen knives are indeed appreciated). As such, the steel is not nearly such a prominent technique "around here". I was the same way.

What I have learned is this. Kitchen knives, European and American style kitchen knives, are pretty soft in general...around 55. This is pretty much optimal for the use of a steel to hone. Japanese style kitchen knives can be extremely hard...up around 65 some of them. Using a round steel on an edge that hard will be a disaster. Knives that hard were meant for waterstones pretty much.

Then we have the bulk of the knives this particular community fancies...let's just call them sporting knives for lack of a better term. Anything from traditional slipjoints, puukkos, to tactical, tacti-cool, Spyderco, Sebenza, Strider, Hinderer...the whole lot of them. All of these things are made of steels right around 58 or so at the low end and 60 or 62 at the higher end...depending on the steel.

As such, the use of the traditional steel is not generally a part of how these knives are maintained.

I came to this concusion both through reading and direct knowledge. Steels do very badly on a Scandi grind edge. They have little effect on a fairly obtuse v grind...just don't do anything. They were meant for flat, acutely ground soft steel knives which sheath and pocket knives seldom are.
 
maskedbacon said:
Hey thanks Hoosier.

Any ideas where on the great internets I can ask this question?
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There's actually a 'Kitchen Cutlery & Tools' sub-forum on BF, here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=842

Sometimes, activity there can be a bit slow. But, I think you might find more folks there who share your interest in kitchen cutlery.

Don't give up on BladeForums yet. You can search here, too. I'd search on terms such as 'steeling', etc.

(I'll look too. If I find something that might help, I'll link it here.)

Steeling in the Kitchen
Why steel a knife when you can hone & sharpen at the same time?
Testing a Few Questions
 
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Hi Dave,

Yeah, I took a look there and there's a total of... 9 or 10 topics? :)

I appreciate your help. I have a bunch of spyderco's and other knives so I'm not going anywhere, don't you worry. I just did a cram-job on sharpening and learned that everything I thought I knew was wrong, so I'm on a new-years quest to treat all my knives right and get them scary sharp :) I'm sure I'll be bugging people here on how to perfect that process.

If you can't find anything on steeling I'll let you know what the best alternative forum I find is.
 
I switched to a polished steel for kitchen knives years ago, then switched again to using a borocillicate rod for daily use. I use both German kitchen knives and Japanese high quality prep knives, and have good results using the glass rod for the past 15 years or so. No nicking or chipping of the harder steels on the Japanese knives.

Any Pyrex brand kitchen or laboratory glassware will work. You don't need to go out and spend a lot of money on something. The edge of a Pyrex meatloaf pan worked well for me before I had a dedicated rod made for me at a chemical supply house. I could have used a large test tube filled with clay (to make it more sturdy) just as easily, but the custom one cost me less than $10. You probably already have a Pyrex baking dish in your kitchen, so why not try that and see if you like it.

Stitchawl
 
Hi Stitchawl,

Are simple, cheap glass rods just not available? Did you have problems with polished steel or was it more of a personal preference thing? I'm really surprised it's so hard to find polished/smooth honing rods if it seems relatively unanimous that they are superior means of maintaining kitchen cutlery.
 
maskedbacon said:
Hi Stitchawl,

Are simple, cheap glass rods just not available?
Click to expand...

Strong cheap ones aren't. HandAmerican sells a very good one, but it's about $75 USD. Cheap borosilicate rods ARE available in chemical supply stores but they aren't particularly strong. Things like stirring rods, etc. But if you were to take a long (16 inch) straight tube and fill it with clay or sand to strengthen it, it would work fine and cost less than $10. Just so long as it's borosilicate glass... "Pyrex" is a brand name for borosilicate glass, but most chemical glassware is made from the same stuff regardless of the branding. As I said in my first post, you can use the edge of a Pyrex meatloaf baking dish with excellent results. Being a knifenut I wanted to have a dedicated rod for the task and so had one made for me. And it was certainly cheaper than buying a good meatpacker's steel. I wrapped a piece of leather around one end to serve as a handle, and as long as I don't drop it, expect it to last as long as I do.

Did you have problems with polished steel or was it more of a personal preference thing?
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Strictly personal preference. The polished steel worked very well but I 'felt' that the glass worked better... for me.

I'm really surprised it's so hard to find polished/smooth honing rods if it seems relatively unanimous that they are superior means of maintaining kitchen cutlery.
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They are not necessarily 'superior.' They are 'different.' The grooved steels is a bit more aggressive than I want for my knives. The grooved steel is seen more often because people shop in kitchen stores rather than industrial supply houses. And frankly, most people don't know that there can be a difference in the end results, or perhaps even care about that difference. Crazies like us care. :D

One, with ribs or groves, is called a Butcher's Steel. The other, smooth one, is called a Meatpacker's Steel. When you shop at a kitchen supply store you usually find Butcher's Steels. If you were to shop at an 'industry supply store' you'd find more Meatpacker's Steels. (Note: Some sources list these the other way around, name-wise.)


Stitchawl
 
Just to add another degree of confusion, I have found that the flat side of another knife works well for "steeling". I have a Food Network small Japanese chef's knife that I sharpened on my belt sander with leather honing belt and compound. After than sharpening session, I used it to cut cardboard, and would steel it when the edge just started to get dull. I was able to keep a hair shaving edge on it for a long time. I didn't count but I'm guessing I went to the steel 4 or 5 times before it became ineffective. I steeled the edge on the flat of my Faberware chef's knife. I don't particularly like steeling my knives, but if you want to do so, it will keep an edge going for a while. Light pressure is key, as well as angle control. Schrade sold a flat steeling bar for use with their hunting knives. It has always gotten a good word from people who've tried it. It wouldn't be to hard to make one yourself if you have a hardenable steel flat bar. The flat bar helps lower the pressure on the edge, preventing edge damage. This is why I used the flat of my other knife.

PS: The high speed self-fencing some people do with a steel makes me cringe.
 
maskedbacon said:
Hey thanks again.

I'll do a little bit of snooping around... did you see this link?

http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Packingh...?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1294098803&sr=1-33

F.Dick Packinghouse Steel -- seem OK to you? Anything I should look out for when ... snooping?
Click to expand...


F.Dick is one of the leading names in industrial use/professional knives and steels. I would trust this one with no qualms about it.

Watch out for overpriced items. A steel is just that; steel. There is no magic about it. Same with borosilicate glass. It's not some new modern tricky device. It's cheap hard glass. F.Dick's tools don't come with fancy wood handles. Either plain wood or more often, plastic. They are selling professional use tools, not TV commercial come-ons.

Stitchawl
 
Alrighty. Well I think that settles it!

Thanks again guys! I'll be bugging you about sharpening finesses and whatnot sooner than you'll like :)
 
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