Sharpening kitchen knives with steel to maintain them in tip-top shape is a very important and easy process.. Knives are only as good as their cutting edges, which may be maintained with steel. When used correctly, honing steel can actually push a knife’s blade back into its normal place.
Hold the honing steel vertically and tilt the knife blade down. Sharpen your knives on a regular basis to avoid blade damage. The tiny microscopic fibers fold over and dull the knife’s edge. These fibers will be straightened or re-aligned by the sharpening steel.
How to sharpen a knife with a steel
Position the Blade
Place the sharpening steel on your work surface, point down. Hold the honing steel handle in your non-dominant hand, such that the guard at the top of the handle protects it.
Point the steel point down onto a stable work surface. The honing steel should be vertical at all times. Place the steel vertically on a chopping board, kitchen towel, or other appropriate surfaces. Checking the Belt Buckle Knife will be helpful as well.
Position the Steel
To operate the steel sharpener precisely and safely, grasp the handle with your non-dominant hand. Point the opposite end into the surface you’re working on and forcefully push down to ensure it’s sturdy and won’t move. You will keep the steel sharpener in this position throughout the sharpening operation.
Positioning the Knife
Press the bottom (heel) of the knife you wish to hone against the top of the steel. The blade should be positioned towards the handle, as though you were going to cut into the honing steel. Holding and situating the steel sharpener correctly will ensure that you get the most out of it.
To operate this with the utmost care, wrap all of your fingers around the knife’s handle. Keep all of your fingers wrapped around the knife and avoid resting your index finger on top of the blade.
This will help you maintain a firm grasp while you forcefully slide the blade up and down the steel rod.
Select the Right Angle
Choosing the proper angle is a key aspect of working with steel. In general, most knives are honed to a 20-degree angle. This is the same angle you should utilize with your steel.
To locate 20 degrees, hold your knife at a 90-degree angle to the steel, then visually cut the angle in half by moving your knife to a 45-degree angle. Finally, reduce the angle in half again to determine the about 20 degree angle where you’ll position your knife.
Sharpening the Edge
Gently glide the blade along the length of the steel rod in sweeping motions, as if lighting a match. Then, just before you reach the countertop, raise the blade back up to the top of the handle while allowing the other side of the blade to touch the steel rod. Down, repeat the sweeping motion.
Bring the knife down and towards yourself on the honing steel in a smooth motion. As you move the knife, keep it at the same angle. The knife’s tip should be at the bottom of the steel.
Maintain a vertical grip on the honing steel. Place the bottom (heel) of the blade on the opposite side of the steel near the top to hone the other side of the knife.
You’ll need to run each side of the blade down the honing steel 5 to 10 times, depending on how hard or dull your knife is. You can either hone one side entirely at a time or alternate between them as long as you sharpen them the same amount of times.
Risen the Knife
Rinse the knife blade under running water and then dry it with a soft towel. While honing should not remove metal from the blade, small metal filings may have been removed.
Check the Sharpness
If this is your first time sharpening a knife, you should conduct several tests along the route to ensure that you are receiving the optimum results.
Cutting a sheet of paper is one of the best and most popular tests that a chef may perform. Use the paper test to confirm that the blade is sharp enough. Hold a folded piece of newspaper at one end with your non-dominant hand to do this.
Then, with the blade tilted slightly outward, place it on the top edge of the paper. Allow the knife to fall through the paper neatly. Your knife is sharp enough if it cuts neatly. If your knife does not cut the paper neatly, sharpen it again.
Final Words
You can not cut anything properly with a knife that is not shaped. After using it sometimes it loses its purpose. But this can be made new. And the easiest process is to use steel. As now you know how to sharpen a knife with steel, you can easily do it on your own, and this will save a lot of money and time.