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+--- Thread: The alternative for a sharpening steel? (/showthread.php?tid=248)
The alternative for a sharpening steel? - Rupert Lucius - 01-13-2018
Success with sharpening steels has been ZERO for me.
https://www.dick.de/en/tools-for-chefs-and-butchers/products/rapid-steel-the-alternative-for-a-sharpening-steel
The Mousetraps from Razor Edge has been around close to as long as I have: https://www.razoredgesystems.com/
Also note their Mini Mousetrap.
What got me thinking about "spring loaded steels" was this article sent to me by Mr. Max - take note at 8 minutes and 18 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwW89H1olxE&feature=youtu.be
Have you had experience with spring loaded steels?
Rupert
RE: The alternative for a sharpening steel? - Mark Reich - 01-14-2018
I've seen all kinds at Blade. The springs pretty well eliminate their effectiveness, IMHO.
On the rare occasion I actually dent an edge, I iron it out on practically anything that's smooth, fairly hard, with a small contact area. Kitchens are absolutely loaded with smooth ceramic objects.
I also have a bunch of smooth steels that are impossible to misplace. I call them vise handles.
If I roll an edge, I do use the un-glazed ring or the top edge of a vehicular window.
Ordinary objects abound, so I never have to retrieve a dedicated tool, which would always be more difficult for me to locate.
YMMV
RE: The alternative for a sharpening steel? - eddosedge - 01-14-2018
Rupert,
I just sharpened my EDC yesterday and it showed 182gf using test clips. I just pulled the Razor's edge Mousetrap steel out and gave the blade a few passes.
Now it shows 239 gf
Ed K.
RE: The alternative for a sharpening steel? - Bud - 01-14-2018
(01-14-2018, 11:00 AM)eddosedge Wrote: Rupert,
I just sharpened my EDC yesterday and it showed 182gf using test clips. I just pulled the Razor's edge Mousetrap steel out and gave the blade a few passes.
Now it shows 239 gf
Ed K.
Ain't it great Mr. Eddosedge! I've got $500.00 worth of sharpening tools and crap sitting in a box that the edge tester proved either don't work or even hurt my edges. I'm still out the $500 but I'm not out the time wasted using them anymore. You say you use clips. Never tried them myself so, if you don't mind, why do you use them and do you like them?
RE: The alternative for a sharpening steel? - Ken S - 01-14-2018
Ed,
Keep on with what you are doing; you will soon get your BESS numbers up to factory new.
Ken
RE: The alternative for a sharpening steel? - me2 - 01-14-2018
I just use the spine of another knife. The grooved steels that come with many knife blocks are not terribly useful ime.
RE: The alternative for a sharpening steel? - Ken S - 01-14-2018
I may be wrong, however, using the spine of a knife as a steel seems barbaric to me. It reminds me of the woodworkers who use a screwdriver to roll a burr on hand or cabinet scrapers.
I agree with you about steels with grooves. My Henckel set came with a grooved steel rod. After I learned a little more about sharpening, I was given a nice ceramic rod. The ceramic rod is in my knife block now. I only kept the Henckel grooved steel rod in the back of a drawer incase some future owner prefers a matching set over one with a ceramic rod which works well. Why do we value matching sets over assembled sets which work better?
Ken
RE: The alternative for a sharpening steel? - me2 - 01-15-2018
I suppose so, however, for most common stainless kitchen knives, it works. With a block full of knives, one's always handy. I've not done it since I added a 8" ceramic rod. I don't really consider them steels, as they abrade a bit.
RE: The alternative for a sharpening steel? - Mark Reich - 01-15-2018
It really depends on how you want to maintain your edges, and that depends on what type of steel you're using. You can't maintain hard steel as you would soft steel. I wouldn't use a rod on my Japanese knives, but they work for common stainless knives.
I wouldn't totally dismiss the idea of using a round spine in place of a steel, but it wouldn't work the way a rod does. It would be more like occasionally ironing out dents, as I might occasionally use a piece of ceramic tableware.
When I use a rod, I plant the tip on a cutting board and hold it vertically. That way I can be more accurate with the angle, which is even more important with ceramic. The M3 ceramic rod we passed around is a great example of that modern line of reasoning. An equal type of ceramic rod maintenance would be a ceramic rod holder IMHO.
Yes, ceramic rods are different than smooth steel, as they do abrade and leave something like a scratch pattern. Smooth steels don't leave any scratch pattern, but they maintain a polished edge very well. That's why they're common with butchers. Butchers also get enough practice to be able to suspend the rod and maintain an effective angle.
Mr. KG mentioned that there are three types of steels used at the slaughterhouse. I bet they use a grooved steel for slicing meat, and smooth for boning. I doubt they use ceramic, but perhaps he could elaborate.
Kitchen knives could be maintained similarly, for performing similar tasks, but I would rather use hard steel with an effective scratch pattern for the majority of household use. Boning meat or parting chickens takes a separate knife with a different edge IMHO.
RE: The alternative for a sharpening steel? - Ken S - 01-15-2018
Interesting post. I am sure my thoughts are influenced by my diet. I eat very little meat, so the bulk of my kitchen knife work is cutting vegetables. I do not mean that as a social commentary, merely a look into what influences my thoughts. My dietary preferences aside, I am still interested in expanding the scope of my sharpening knowledge.
Ken