Honing steel
A honing steel, sometimes referred to as sharpening steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod, butcher's steel, and chef's steel is a rod of steel, ceramic or diamond coated steel used to hone or sharpen blade edges. They are flat, oval, or round in cross-section and up to one foot long (30 cm). The steel and ceramic honing steels may have longitudinal ridges, whereas the diamond coated steels are smooth but will be embedded with abrasive diamond particles.[1]
The naming is often a misnomer, because a steel that hones may be called a "sharpening steel" in common parlance and vice versa. Moreover, the term "honing steel" may actually refer to a tool made from ceramic. For the purposes of this article the term "honing steel" will only refer to steels that hone, and the term "sharpening steel" will only refer to steels that sharpen.
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[edit] Use
Honing steels are used by placing the near edge of the blade against the base of the steel, then sliding the blade away from yourself along the steel while moving it down – the blade moves diagonally, while the steel remains stationary. This should be done at the angle of the edge, usually 20°but this varies due to the job you are doing, and then repeated on the opposite side with the same angle. This is repeated five to ten times.[1]
[edit] Honing
Honing is often recommended to be performed immediately before or after using a knife,[2] and can be done daily.[1] By contrast, knives are generally sharpened much less frequently. Honing steels are of no use if the edge is blunt, because it removes no material. Instead it fixes the micro-serrations along the edge of the blade. It is not known exactly how the honing process works; some experts believe honing straightens the serrations while others believe it re-creates them.[1]
[edit] Sharpening
Sharpening steels made from ceramic or that have a diamond coating remove a feathered edge so that the blade does not grip and tear but slice through with very little effort. Because these steels are not meant for constant use they are merely a cosmetic steel.
[edit] East Asia
Honing steels are traditionally used in the West, on the softer steels used in Western knives. In East Asia, notably Japan, harder steels are used, so there is little need for honing intra-day, as the edge does not deform as much. Instead, the blade is lightly sharpened daily on a whetstone.
This difference may be observed by contrasting a Western butcher (using a steel) with a Japanese sushi chef (using a whetstone).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d La Table, Sur; Jay, Sarah; Fink, Ben (2008). Knives Cooks Love: Selection. Care. Techniques. Recipes.. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp. 59–61. ISBN 9780740770029. http://books.google.com/books?id=xsX7A6HzaWkC&pg=PA59.
- ^ Bryan Miller (April 20, 2005). "Kitchen Equipment Secrets". National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4607144. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
