BLADE steeling, final edge?

J

JD Spydo

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Nov 20, 2004
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I have been reading some good books on knife sharpening here of late. One book I am reading is the Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening by John Juranitch. In that book I read something about steeling the edge of a knife blade that really surprised me. He says you should use a smooth steel. All of the steels I had used up till then had tiny grooves/ridges. I bought a German made F. Dick smooth Steel and it sure has made a big difference in the final outcome of the sharpness of a good blade.

What are some of you alls ideas of "Steeling knife blades"?

I have also had reasonable luck with Diamond and ceramic steels as well. I am here to learn so tell me what you all know :)
 
I'm with Juranitch, I use a smooth steel. I don't have an F Dick steel but they are supposed to be top notch.

If I need anything beyond a smooth steel, it's time to strop or sharpen.

Joe
 
When I was studying meat cutting years ago part of the course was "Sharpening your knives". Dr Crockett said the steel smoothed out and aligned the microserrations on the blade after using a stone. We alway used a smooth steel(butcher's steel).
 
I read the same book and threw out our steels, the typical rough or striated steels that seem to come even with a nice set of Henckels. I only use a smooth steel, sometimes referred to as a "packer" or "butchers" steel. It works like a charm.

Ben Dale, the inventor of the Edge Pro Sharpener (the Benz of the Sharpener Kingdom) highly recomends steeling with a smooth steel. The key is very light to no pressure; he says let the weight of the knife do the work, and keeping the knife angle consistent throughout the entire pull. The angle is not important, just keeping it consistent from bolster to the tip.

I expect that 99% of the people who use a steel think its a sharpening device, hence the microserrations. Big fallacy.
 
Right. We're talking about re-aligning a little wire of metal with very few molecules in it. The weight of the knife is usually enough to do that.

I expect that 99% of the people who use a steel think its a sharpening device, hence the microserrations. Big fallacy.
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Probably right. And a grooved steel does make the knife feel sharper for a time. It does re-align the edge, but also chews it up. The edge seems to work better for a while but falls apart quickly. But that itself may also partially explain it: the effect of a grooved steel on the edge is more aggressive (even though you reach diminishing returns quickly), rather than the more subtle effects of re-aligning with a smooth steel.
 
Ripper said:
Here is a good article on burnishing .
Regards,
Greg
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Thanks a lot Ripper that was some good information indeed. I had never thought of steeling a blade to by synonomous with "burnishing". We have done some burnishing in the machine tool lab before and I just never even equated that to any type of knife maintenance. You know sometimes the answers are right under your nose and you just can't even see them. Thanks a million :thumbup:
 
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