Knife sharpening steel

[johnnytheboy]

Not really bushcraft but I'm thinking on investing on a steel for my kitchen knifes and quick touch ups of edc pocket knifes, however I know nothing about them

I noticed there is 3 options, traditional, ceramic and diamond. The latter really worry me that I might kill a knife with removing to much metal to quickly.

I have a rubbish pound shop one currently that I'm sure isn't as hard as the knifes I have as it does nothing and looks a little suspect!

so really I'm looking for advice, do I go with ceramic or do I go with traditional, which brand do you recommend?

 

[Janne]

A steel steel does not sharpen the edge, it does align/straighten it. No metal is removed.

Not sure if ceramic or diamond steels align the edge or sharpen it.

I prefer to maintain - sharpen them with water stone. Align with a steel 'steel'.

I have a ceramic steel somewhere, but feel I have more control with a stone.

 

[demographic]

Personally I detest traditional knife steels with a passion and feel they give a far less sharp but toothed edge thats OK on meat.

I much prefer an abrasive hone and maybe a stropping compound impregnated bit of MDF board to finish off.

 

[Shelley]

The best steel should be just that, steel with no lines, if it has lines on it then basically it's a file and it's not doing the blade any good.
An edge should be thin, when it encounters something hard it either cuts or it can roll the very thin edge over, like a wave rolling at the crest, the steel essentially rips the rolled bit off, exposing a thin edge again, maybe not as thin as the one that rolled but very close.
As soon as you add lines then you are not just removing the rolled bit but taking out chunks of your blade as well.
A diamond rod is even worse-although if used softly can work, as can a non smooth steel, but it needs to be slowly, softly, at the right angle, not banged about like chefs on to do.
Really to keep the knife sharp a good stone, water or akansaw translucent stone will do the best job, in that they will sharpen whilst removing the least amount of excess metal. Diamond bench stones are good-but aggressive.
Buy a good stone and proactive on a cheap knife, a good stone will last forever.
If your steel has lines then do yourself a favour and throw it away, or get an old red brick and use that to remove the lines, then use it, but slowly and softly.

 

[Robson Valley]

Knife steels are no more than very elongate files. They do remove metal or a crooked edge would never be straightened. Paint the bevel with black felt marker and watch.
Kitchen knives often seem dull as the bevel gets rounded off/blunted by poor sharpening. 12* to 15* is an adequate total included bevel angle for everything softer than bone.
Then you have to jump to 40*.
I "fix" dull knives with a few wipes through a Chestnut TC sharpener = 2 small blocks of tungsten carbide angled to re-establish the bevels.
Dress that edge with 600 or 800 grit fine sandpaper on a flat surface. Kitchen prep doesn't need any more even than 1,000 grit.

Sharpen from your knees, not your arms. You become the jig.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I have a very old steel, the lines are a LOT finer than those on any steel I have seen for sale new. It does very little in the way of removing metal, unlike the newer, coarser, steals that one can buy. When I say old, I mean something that my Grandparents left behind, they were in their 70s and that was about 30 years ago. The steel my dad got for kitchen knives, bought 35 or more years ago, looks like what you can get now and is rubbish. Diamond and ceramic, as sold these days, are sharpeners, they remove material. Ceramic could be made fine enough that it would do very little removal, but mostly they are not.

I usually prefer abrasive sharpening and stropping, but I found that this was ineffective when I was asked to regrind a set of truly awful kitchen knives for a neighbour. No amount of sharpening or stropping would produce a sharp edge, but a few swipes on the steel and they were slicing sharp. Best bet, they were made of steel "toffee" and there was always a burr at the edge that it was very hard to remove with sharpening and stropping.

I bought my dad a 3-sided diamond sharpening rod for his kitchen knives...doesn't work all that well, and it is good quality. The Spyderco Sharpmaker I got him has proven much better for keeping his knives sharp(ish). The white ceramic doesn't take off much metal, but the options exist to use it to take off more, and the angle guide system makes it quick and easy to use. The system can also be used to sharpen other things, so much more versatile than a simple rod sharpener.