Knife Sharpening with a Steel

Although similar, sharpening steel and honing steel have two important differences: a sharpening steel will sharpen a blunt knife, whereas a honing steel will hone the edge of your sharp knife. This is due the the material used to make them — as the name suggests, the sharpening steel is indeed made of steel. A honing steel, however, consists of a layer of an abrasive material such as ceramic or diamond.

By running the knife's edge along a sharpening steel, you remove a thin layer of steel and any bumps, scratches and dents, making it straight again. A sharpening steel can therefore be used to sharpen knives that have become blunt after repeated use, however, it is not advised to use this method every time you cook as it removes too much material. Once or twice a month is plenty.

To use a honing steel, hold the rod vertically with the tip on a cutting board, angle your knife at about 15-20° and sweep the blade down the steel from heel to tip, alternating sides every 5-10 times. In contrast to the sharpening steel, this tool does not remove any material from the knife, and should be used each time you cook. This will keep the edge at its sharpest, meaning you will not need to sharpen the knife as often as you usually would. However, it’s important to note that a honing steel cannot make a blunt knife sharp again. For that, you would use the sharpening steel (or stone).