Sharpening steel is an apparatus that is used to realign the angle of the knives. It is also known by other names such as honing steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod, chef’s steel or butcher’s steel. The shape of sharpening steel is often flat, oval or round in the cross section. Most of the sharpening steels often go up to 30 cm in length.
There are various types of sharpening steels available in the market. They might be made of ceramic, steel or diamond coated steel. The steel and ceramic variations have longitudinal ridges on them while the diamond variant has abrasive diamond particles coated on the steel.
The name sharpening steel or honing steel is often a misnomer because these rods neither hone or sharpen a knife. They are specifically used to re-align the edge of the blade rather than sharpening and honing it to remove metal from it. These rods became widely popular during the 80’s as the manufacturers launched them with the ceramic and later, steel and diamond abrasives were used.
These sharpening steels are used by placing the edge of the knife steel against the base of steel, then by sliding the blade away. The blade is held at an angle of around 20 degrees to the steel so that it moves diagonally while you re align the edges. The sharpening steel remains stationery in the process.
Best Knife Sharpening Steels of 2021
J.A. Henckels 9-Inch Poly Sharpening Steel
9" steel & Lifetime guarantee
- DIMENSIONS: 15 X 4.2 X 1.5 inches
- WEIGHT: 5.6 ounces
- REVIEW STARS: 4.5/5
Sharpening steel is completion to your kit of knives and sharpeners. This is one such sharpening steel. It does exactly what it is meant for, that is re-aligning the curved edges of the blade by straightening up the metal fibres that bend due to constant use, thereby maintaining the sharpest edge possible.
The dimensions of this sharpening steel are 15 x 4.2 x 15 inches while it weighs 5.6 pounds, while the steel rod is 9 inches long. The sharpening steel has a handle that is made of polypropylene and has a hanging hole too. This handle has incorporated strict ergonomic conditions such as its size, grip and weight ratio of handle and rod. The handle has a solid grip and fits the hands perfectly.
This is a light-weight model with a tapered rod. While the experienced users will hugely benefit from the lightweight product, the new users might have to go for a more substantially weighted product.
It is overall a great rod with a comfortable hold and easy usage. It will always make sure your blade always retains the sharpness it had come with, without losing the metal.
Buck Knives 97082 EdgeTek Tri-Grit Ultra Steel Diamond Knife Sharpener
- DIMENSIONS: 2.6 X 1.8 X 15.8 inches
- WEIGHT: 6.9 ounces
- REVIEW STARS: 4.7/5
Buck knives have always been known for their innovation and commitment to provide better products to the consumers. Going forward with their tradition, they have come up with a new line of American made knife sharpening rods and this is one of their masterpieces. This is an ideal choice for your household, and it does cater very well to your requirements of outdoor recreation such as hunting, camping or fishing. Be it any kind of knife, or even a fishing hook, this sharpener takes care of it all.
The sharpener comes with an overall length of 15.57 inches which is pretty long while the edge covers most of the length with a length of 10 inches. It weighs just 6.9 oz, which makes it extremely easy to use and carry. This is a tri-sided sharpener with multiple grits. The coarse grit is for dull knives, the medium is meant for daily usage sharpening purposes while the finer grit is used when you require precision to perform delicate tasks.
The handle is made of polypropylene and its scores well on ergonomics. It is great to hold and has a hand guard as a safety feature.
The surface of the sharpening steel is 100% diamond coated abrasives, which makes it one of the toughest players out there in the markets. The diamond abrasives ensure a superior re-alignment of the blade edges without losing a bit of the steel. It comes with a lifetime warranty, so thereby making it an ideal product for your household/workshop, so much that you would never worry about having another household sharpening steel again.
DMT DS2E 12-Inch Diamond Steel Sharpening Rod
- DIMENSIONS: 17 X 2 X 2.5 inches
- WEIGHT: 12 ounces
- REVIEW STARS: 4.1/5
DMT are widely recognized for their innovative, diverse and quality products across the globe. DMT has crafted a full line of sharpening steels and other associated products that finds immense usage in camping, fishing, culinary purposes, hunting, gardening and outdoor sports.
If you are an experienced professional or a home maker with enough experience and knowledge of your knife and what type of sharpness it requires, this product is ideal for you as it provides a real and effective means to re-align the bent fibers of your blade edge. The steel of this rod coated with diamond abrasives, which are really hard given the fact that diamond is the hardest material on earth. It requires only a few gentle strokes across the abrasives with the knife held at an angle of 20 degrees.
The rod comes with an extra fine grit apart from the regular grits, which is meant for frequent touch-ups or the final polishing and finishing after the knife passes through other grits. The blade length of this sharpener is of 12 inches which is a great feature as the rod length should ideally be greater than the blade length.
The sharpening steel has got a handle made up of sanitary black plastic that fits the hands perfectly and is fairly ergonomic too, and further it comes with a guard to protect your hand. A color coded ring is provided at the end of the handle for hanging and further, with the help of color codes, you can easily tell one grit from another.
The product comes with a full replacement warranty if any part of product is found defective. It is overall a nice sharpening steel, which will make sure your kitchen knives never go dull.
Smith's 50002 9-Inch Oval Ceramic Sharpening Rod
- DIMENSIONS: 16 X 3.2 X 1.5 inches
- WEIGHT: 4.8 ounces
- REVIEW STARS: 4.2/5
This product is an innovative design introduced in the market by Smith’s. It is going to do away your kitchen woes by quickly sharpening all of your kitchen knives and associated cutlery products. It is a 9 inches long oval shaped sharpening rod that is made of new age ceramic. Users, who have been always worked with steel, might end up undermining ceramic’s performance. While it looks a lot less tough than steel, it is advisable for you not to go upon its appearance as this material is tougher than steel.
Apart from being tougher, this product is more innovative than the conventional steel rods. It scores a lot of brownie points on the fact that it does not only re-align the blade edges but also hones them, a task not many conventional steel rods do.
Its grip feels firm and with a weight of just 4.8 ounces, it is really compact and easy to access and use. It has scored on the safety front by having an oversized hand guard which will ensure comfort along with safety. Also comes with a hang-up ring for easy storage and a a non-slipping rubber tip on the rod. This protects the countertop from any damage and also ensures stability while you sharpen your knives with it.
Victorinox Cutlery 9-Inch Round Sharpening Steel
- DIMENSIONS: 14 X 1.3 X 1.1 inches
- WEIGHT: 8 ounces
- REVIEW STARS: 4.6/5
This sharpening steel is made of the highest quality steel to ensure your cutlery to work smoother than ever. It is great at maintaining edges on your steel. It is not particularly a long rod, which makes it an ideal choice for your kitchen knives and other cutlery. The small size makes this rod convenient to use in the kitchen without the risk of any accident.
This is something that you would be needing every other time you perform any kitchen task as it re-aligns the knives perfectly so that they don’t lose their edge. The actual sharpness would be needed only once or twice a year. Moreover, its regular use is also going to prolong the life of your cutlery as every time you use this rod on your knives, their edges will be straightened again and this will ensure a long life to your blades.
The sharpening rod also comes with black fibrox handles that are slip-resistant and ergonomically viable. It also comes along with a hanging ring that will reduce any chaos related to its storage. This is one knife sharpening rod that is going to be with you for a very long time and it promises to endure a great amount of strain to make sure it does not wear off.
Another great thing about this sharpening rod is that comes comparatively cheap to what it promises, and it is always a better option than the cheap Chinese products that come in the same price category. It will always ensure you a smooth ride during your cookery endeavors.
Features To Look Out For In Your Sharpening Steel
Sharpening rods have changed the way we sharpen our knives nowadays. They are not only cost effective and high performance, they don’t do any harm to the blade and instead, they prolong the life of blade.
The first thing you should be looking out for in your rod should be compactness and its dimensions. If it is a rod meant for kitchen cutlery, you should look out for a shorter rod, or otherwise you can always go for a bigger rod. Similarly, light weight will also ensure smoother usage.
You should be looking out for a rod made up of quality materials like steel or ceramic that does not wear off easily and has multiple grits for multiple knife conditions.
Another important feature to look out for is honing, some good rods hone the blade while re-aligning the edges, which is always a great option.
Make sure all the safety features should have been perfectly incorporated in your rod before you decide to buy. Things like a long hand guard, a strong base, a simple manual and a hanging hole might just be a few things that you would expect in your sharpening steel.
