Tungsten carbide rod for steeling knives

[Slim7]

Hi,
What do you all think about using a smooth tungsten carbide rod to steel/hone knives with?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Haven't used one, but I suppose it'd depend on what the objective is, in 'steeling' a knife with it. If the goal is just to realign the edge, the tungsten carbide (WC) rod could do it, but would also likely remove more metal than necessary.

If the goal is actual sharpening or light honing involving removal of some steel to reset edge geometry, I'd assume the WC rod could work as well as any other ceramic (alumina) rod, or any other suitable sharpening tool, for that matter.

Also depends on the knives being 'steeled'. If they're just simple low-alloy stainless, as are most kitchen knives 'steeled' in conventional use, the WC may be overkill for that. On the other hand, if the knives are bladed in harder (higher RC) or more wear-resistant steels with heavy carbide content, something like WC, ceramic or diamond would likely be more effective for those anyway, as they generally don't respond as well to conventional steeling, beyond a certain point.

Edited to add:
Out of curiosity, in looking online at pricing for WC rods, they seem pretty pricey as compared to something like an alumina ceramic rod of comparable size. For the money, I doubt they'd offer much, if any, advantage for simple honing/steeling use, over an inexpensive ceramic rod.

 

[FK]

The most efficient steeling of any edge to realign distortion is with a smooth tungsten carbide rod.... Very light pressure. These are usually cutting tools or drill bits mounted in a wooden handle, inexpensive and easy to make.
Many woodworkers used this on plane blades with HC steel or alloys up to Rc 62, works very well for fast edge refreshing. If used only 2 or 3 times then sharping on stones is the recommended cycle. Magnification will tell so much when experimenting with this technique.

The more common use of "steeling" is with a fine grooved rod and this just tears off the blade material leaving a ragged coarse apex. Widely used by cooks with low hardness steel blades in the kitchen.

Regards,
FK

 

[Slim7]

Haven't used one, but I suppose it'd depend on what the objective is, in 'steeling' a knife with it. If the goal is just to realign the edge, the tungsten carbide (WC) rod could do it, but would also likely remove more metal than necessary.

If the goal is actual sharpening or light honing involving removal of some steel to reset edge geometry, I'd assume the WC rod could work as well as any other ceramic (alumina) rod, or any other suitable sharpening tool, for that matter.

Also depends on the knives being 'steeled'. If they're just simple low-alloy stainless, as are most kitchen knives 'steeled' in conventional use, the WC may be overkill for that. On the other hand, if the knives are bladed in harder (higher RC) or more wear-resistant steels with heavy carbide content, something like WC, ceramic or diamond would likely be more effective for those anyway, as they generally don't respond as well to conventional steeling, beyond a certain point.

Edited to add:
Out of curiosity, in looking online at pricing for WC rods, they seem pretty pricey as compared to something like an alumina ceramic rod of comparable size. For the money, I doubt they'd offer much, if any, advantage for simple honing/steeling use, over an inexpensive ceramic rod.

So do you think a totally smooth carbide rod would be to aggressive on a kitchen knife? This idea has always peaked my interest. Tungsten tight grain/smooth round blanks can be bought, but they are $$$$$. There are several pull through gadgets that offer tungsten, but they are usually a sharp point or corner resulting in removing way to much metal. I was wondering if a smooth carbide rod would remove to much metal or even put a wavy edge on knives.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

So do you think a totally smooth carbide rod would be to aggressive on a kitchen knife? This idea has always peaked my interest. Tungsten tight grain/smooth round blanks can be bought, but they are $$$$$. There are several pull through gadgets that offer tungsten, but they are usually a sharp point or corner resulting in removing way to much metal. I was wondering if a smooth carbide rod would remove to much metal or even put a wavy edge on knives.

With light, occasional use, a smooth rod in WC could (should) work fine, even well. It's just that for 'steeling' kitchen knives, usually all that's needed is just aligning the edge, even without any metal removal. Simple stainless kitchen knives are soft and ductile enough, their edges will bend/roll relatively easily with use. Most will knock that, about such knives. But, it's also a good thing, in that a simple tool, like a smooth 'steel' (in chromed steel; not WC or ceramic) is enough to work very well to straighten it out, and won't remove any/much additional steel at all, over time. So, the WC rod would sometimes be more aggressive than what's actually needed; but if it's used with that awareness, it could still be useful if it isn't necessarily used each and every time the edge needs realigning alone. I could see it being more valuable for steeling harder, higher-wear blades though, as I mentioned earlier, as those don't behave with the same tendency to roll or 'unroll', as the softer, simpler knives do, and will likely need some actual honing/sharpening to restore their edges, when it's needed.

I wouldn't worry about the WC rod putting a 'wavy' edge on a knife, unless the pressure used with such a tool was way, way too heavy. Light touch is key, with any 'steeling' done on knives, else the edge will get rolled or otherwise damaged.