Sharpening Steel

Sharpening steel is an essential kitchen accessory that is specifically used to sharpen knives once they get blunt. It is a long tapered rod made of extremely hard, high carbon steel or ceramic attached to a handle.

Steels are available in a range of sizes but it should be longer than the knife to be sharpened. To sharpen the knives the blade is drawn across the steel at an angle of 20 to 30 degree several times. If the blade is dull it is first sharpen on whetstone. Whetstone is a very hard, dense grained rectangular block used to sharpen dull knives.