How to Use a Sharpening Steel on Your Knives - Video

First, a quick tour update. Sunday 4/29 was my first day on the road, and I did a book signing at San Francisco’s wonderful Omnivore books. My book was on a shelf next to Jacques Pepin. Talk about feeling not worthy! We had a nice turnout, and tomorrow I’ve got an event for bloggers and media at Cookhouse. On Tuesday I move on to LA. I’d love to meet as many of you as possible while I’m on the road! Please check the tour page for info, and I’m also posting notes from the road and last minute events on Facebook.

Now on to today’s video. Do you have a sharpening steel in your kitchen? Many people get one as part of a knife set, but don’t know exactly how to use it. Although it is often called a sharpening steel, a more accurate name is a honing steel, because it doesn’t remove metal to create a sharp edge, it merely realigns the edge that is already there. A steel very easy to use, and if you do it regularly, your knives won’t need professional sharpening nearly so often. In the video, I’ll show you two ways to use the steel, as well as a way to check and see if your knife is sharp.

When your steel is no longer able to re-create sharp edge, I use and recommend the Chef’s Choice 130 Professional Knife-Sharpening Station, Platinum. It has 3 wheels - one for removing nicks from damaged edges, one for normal sharpening, and one for putting on an absolute razor finish. The built-in angle guide removes all the guesswork. (On the downside, for serious knife enthusiasts, it doesn’t let you choose different angles, it is preset.)