12" Smooth Sharpening Steel

I’ve used a smooth steel to maintain the edge on our kitchen knives for decades. Most steels on the market are actually round files with longitudinal teeth. In use, those teeth aggressively remove metal from your knife’s cutting edge. In fact, many of them are magnetized to capture the filings that would otherwise fall onto your holiday turkey. I find those steels to be much too aggressive. A smooth steel acts like the burnisher you use on your scraper blades. It doesn’t abrade or remove any metal as it re-forms the cutting edge. You hold the edge against the steel and, with moderate pressure, slide the edge along the steel. By doing so you force the steel to “flow” back into place. By steeling both sides you reshape the edge to the center line and your knife is sharp once again.You can’t fix a badly dulled or damaged blade – get out the abrasives for that. But if you use the smooth steel often - so the edge never gets too dull - you can refresh a keen edge for months, maybe years. I rarely abrade our kitchen knives. My smooth steel is my go-to kitchen honing secret. Hock Tools’ smooth steel can be used as-is, but it’s easy to add a handle. Just drill a 3/8” diameter hole in the end of a handle-worthy piece of wood and insert the rod with a dab of epoxy. Shape the handle to suit (I used bubinga for the one in the photo). And please note, as with your carbon steel Hock kitchen knives, the steel rod is carbon steel, not stainless, so clean and dry it after each use to avoid corrosion