Sharpening steel

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Sharpening steel or a honing steel is a rod of steel, generally about 300 mm long, usually rounded in cross section, used for realigning the microscopic edge of blades. Despite it's name, it is useless in sharpening a truly dull edge; no amount of use will resharpen a dull blade in that a steel cannot remove any appreciable amount of material.

These tools generally have a handle into which the tang is wedged, and occasionally a hilt to safeguard the users fingers. The rod is of hardened steel, with small ridges ground along the length of it. These ridges form a mildly abrasive surface ideal for raising a burr on a blade which has lost its edge. They are of little use on a blade which is totally blunt and requires a new edge. Be aware that the ridges will wear out over time.

1 Usage
2 Trivia
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Usage

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Please improve this article if you can. (April 2008)

A steel is used by sliding the edge of a knife along the steel, as if cutting a long narrow slice off the steel, holding the knife at a chosen angle with respect to the steel. Inexperienced users may find this motion counterintuitive in that it seems like it would dull the blade of the knife. However, pulling the knife backwards would cause a fine burr to build up on the cutting edge that would immediately bend over upon use; moving the knife in the forward direction leaves a cleaner edge.

[edit] Trivia

In the UK trawler fleet, this tool is known as a whiffling stick. The verb to whiffle means to avoid work, hence whilst sharpening a knife you weren't working, and the tool was the whiffling stick.