As I said in the previous post using a honing steel is just used for realigning the edge but doesn’t remove any metal. But this is where some people get confused, realigning the edge makes the knife sharper, without actually sharpening it. t makes sense: if you think about it because when you realign the edge on a honing steel you’re straightening it — a straight edge cuts better than a bent edge — it’s as simple as that. So a couple of strokes before and after every use on a honing steel will prolong it’s sharpness but every so often you’re going to have to sharpen it as well because you can run a dull blade down a honing steel as much as you like, you’re never going to sharpen the thing, which is why a lot of people have blunt knives.
This is where some people can get confused, a diamond coated steel, sharpens a blade, because industrial grade diamond is harder than steel and will strip metal off every time you run the edge of the blade down it. Now you might think a diamond steel is a good idea because you’re actually sharpening the knife, but if you use a diamond steel as often as you would use a honing steel, you’re going to wear down that knife pretty fast and if you’re not keeping a consistent angle using the steel, you’ll round or chip the edge. So a diamond steel is only good if you really know what you’re doing, and most people don’t. Here is Gordon Ramsay, top chef with Michelin stars coming out his arse, demonstrating how to fuck up a top of the range Wüsthof knife with a Wüsthof diamond steel.
If you clang a knife against a diamond or honing steel like that you’ll chip he edge of the knife and the steel. Here is how to do it properly:
When you hold the steel tip facing down, don’t hold it in a reverse grip, hold it in a forehand grip so your arm is out of the way and go nice and slow — it’s not a race. But even if you do it properly make sure you’re doing it at the correct angle, 20º on a kitchen knife, unless you’re stupid enough to buy Japanese chisel ground knives, which you only steel down one side and at a 15-18° angle. Japanese chefs might rate them, but lets be fair, they don’t even use knives and forks –their idea of good cuisine is poisonous raw fish, eaten off the floor with a couple of twigs. What the fuck do they know about cutlery?
stefi
amica
rob
pietro amico
scax
27 September, 2010 at 9:31 am
Well those Japanese sure cut their “poisonous raw fish” with unbelievably sharp knives! They’re on to something, unlike antiquated European-style cutlery with their thick blades, soft steels, obtuse angles, and “rock chopping” technique designed around the premise of dull knives.
rob
27 September, 2010 at 10:17 am
@ Scax
LOL Japanese knives are chisel ground! European kitchen knives aren’t made with soft steel, they’re made with appropriately hard steel for cutting through meat and bone on a regular basis. Japanese kitchen knives are made with steel that is far too hard and brittle, and is prone to chipping on contact with bone or wood, and you don’t need hair-whittling sharp knives in a kitchen. That’s why proper chefs don’t use the inferior Japanese bullshit knives and why you wouldn’t want a chisel ground combat or field knife. The only thing that should be chisel ground is a chisel!
darkhorse
2 December, 2010 at 8:10 pm
@rob
European kitchen knives aren’t made with soft steel, they’re made with appropriately hard steel for cutting through meat and bone on a regular basis.
i suppose u use your knife to cut through bone on a regular basis? u might like a ginsu, i hear they cut through everything.
if u sharpen on a regular basis, as long as you have that edge it doesnt matter where your steel comes from