Honing steel, also called sharpening steel, whet steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod, butcher’s steel, or chef’s steel, is a rod made of steel, ceramic, or steel covered with diamonds that is used to sharpen dull blade edges. They are up to 30 centimeters (1 foot) long and have a flat, oval, or round cross-section. Steel and ceramic honing steels may have long ridges, but diamond-coated steels are smooth but have abrasive diamond particles embedded in them.
Small amounts of metal can be removed with non-abrasive honing rods like smooth ceramic or ribbed steel. In normal use, the rod is put on the blade at an angle that is slightly higher than the bevel. This makes a micro-bevel.
The name “hone” was taken from the way light maintenance is done on a blade without the effort and precision usually required for sharpening. In the 1980s, ceramic abrasives became more popular and proved to be just as good, if not better, than steels for doing daily maintenance tasks. Manufacturers replaced steels with ceramic (and later, manufactured diamond abrasive) sharpening “steels” that actually honed.
Differences between honing and sharpening
Whether your knife needs to be honed or sharpened depends on how the blade is doing. Look closely to see if the edge of your knife blade is bent or if it has lost its sharpness. If the edge is no longer sharp, your knife needs to be sharpened. Your knife needs to be sharpened if the edge is bent or out of place.
By honing your knife, you can move the edge back to the middle and get it back in line. In turn, this makes the knife feel more sharp. On the other hand, sharpening a knife means removing some of the material from the edge of the knife blade to make a new, sharper edge.
Types of honing rods
Most honing steel rods are made of one of three materials: steel, ceramic, or diamond. The last two honing steels, on the other hand, are just the coating on top of the basic steel core. Here is a short description of each type, along with its pros and cons, so that you can make an informed choice when buying one.
Steel rods
Because steel is so common, steel honing rods are one of the oldest and most common types of rods on the market. Most of the time, these rods are made in long, thin shapes with ridges all along their length.
Steel honing rods are preferred by most chefs because they don’t cause allergies and don’t rust. Also, many models now come with magnets that make it easy to pick up tiny pieces of steel from the knife blade when sharpening. This keeps steel bits from getting into your food.
These steel rods are also more durable than other types of honing steel. But you have to be careful when you are sharpening knives made of harder steel. This is because metal that is harder tends to be more brittle and more likely to break when it is being sharpened.
Benefits:
- Affordable and reliable
- Durable
- Magnetized feature offers collection of microscopic particles
Drawbacks:
- Harder to clean because of microscopic particles on steel
- Rough on knives
- Regular honing dulls blades
Ceramic Rods
We know we said that honing rods don’t take any material off the edge of the knife, but this kind does, making the knife sharper. Taking off these tiny pieces lets your knife slice and cut like it did when you first bought it.
Ceramic rods are also known for being resistant to heat and corrosion. They are also light and easy to work with. There are different grits, and the coarser ones are meant to increase friction, while the finer ones are for blades that need to be smooth. It’s important to keep in mind that ceramic rods aren’t the best for sharpening and will hurt the knife’s durability over time.
Also, these rods are fragile and could break if dropped. These rods work best with Japanese knives and knives made of steel that isn’t too hard.
Benefits:
- Heat resistant
- Corrosion resistant
- Ideal for Japanese knives and other delicate knives
- Enhanced precision
Drawbacks:
- Delicate and prone to breakage
- Comparatively more expensive than steel
Diamond Rods
The diamond honing rod is another kind of honing steel that can also be used to sharpen knives. These rods can sharpen any knife, but if you use them every day, you won’t have any blades left to sharpen.
Also, if your knife blade has become dull and you don’t have time to sharpen it right away, you can use a diamond honing rod. Also, the diamond coating on these rods takes off more metal than ceramic, and many users complain that the diamond wears off or falls off too quickly.
Benefits:
- Sharpens as well as hones
- Buys you time before an actual sharpening session
Drawbacks:
- May take too much material from the knife edge
- Diamond coating wears off or falls off too soon
- Can’t be used for honing regularly
- Takes practice to hone, otherwise will damage the blade
How to hone a knife
The next thing you’ll learn from us is how to hone a knife. The first step in honing a knife is to find the right angle to sharpen it at.
- Use a cutting board and put the honing steel in a vertical position so that it is perpendicular to the board.
- Set the knife up at the best angle to the sharpening steel. Most western knives have a 20-degree angle. To get a close approximation of a 20-degree angle, bring the knife blade close to the honing steel at a 90-degree angle and turn it twice, halving the angle at the start. This will put the knife blade at a 22.5-degree angle. To get close to 20 degrees, you can tilt the knife a little more.
- Start by putting the knife’s base on top of the sharpening steel.
- Let the blade slide down at the right angle as you pull the knife toward you.
- Do the other side of the knife on the steel on the other side.
- Swipe back and forth between two and three times.
Pro Tips:
- Hone at the same angle you use to sharpen a knife.
- Keep the angle when you are honing.
- Don’t let the knife tip slide down the edge of the honing steel, or it may become rounded.
- Make sure you’re not pressing too hard; the pressure should be a little more than the weight of the knife.
- Don’t over hone. Only 3 or 4 swipes are needed to hone a knife.
Not sure how to use an honing steel yet? Watch this video if you need help.
How to choose a honing rod
There are a lot of different kinds of honing steels on the market, which vary by brand, length, material, price, and other things. Before you buy an honing rod for your knife, you should think about the following things.
Length
When buying an honing steel, you should think about how long it is because that affects what kinds of knives can be sharpened on it. As a general rule, you might want to buy a sharpening steel that is at least as long as your longest knife.
Longer honing steels make sure that when you sharpen your knife, the edge stays the same.
If you have knives that are longer, you might want to buy a longer honing steel so that you can sharpen them easily. In the same way, shorter knives need sharpening steels that are about 8 to 9 inches long. Longer steels can be between 10 and 12 inches long.
Material
As we’ve already talked about, there are three kinds of honing steels: steel, ceramic, and diamond.
Most honing steel is made out of stainless steel. Many chefs like this sharpening steel because it can be used with most knives. They take tiny pieces of dirt off the edge of the knife and straighten any blade that comes their way.
Ceramic honing steels are both sharpeners and honing steels, and they remove more metal than stainless steel. These steels are fragile and should be handled with extra care.
Lastly, diamond honing steels work like knife sharpeners and take a lot of metal off the knife blade. This means that you can’t use them often and that they aren’t really sharpening steels.
In conclusion, how you choose honing steel depends on what you need it for. If you want a steel to use for regular sharpening, you should choose one made of stainless steel. If you want to go to the knife sharpener less often, you might want to buy one made of ceramic or diamond.
Handle
Choose a handle that lets you hold the honing steel firmly. When you have a firm grip, the steel won’t slip and hurt you or your knife.
Price
Stainless honing steel is the most cost-effective way to sharpen tools. This is because steel is very common, which makes it cheaper than other types of honing steel.
Ceramic and diamond ones are more expensive than steel ones, so you should weigh the pros and cons before making a final purchase decision.
Should you hone a Japanese knife?
People who tried to sharpen their Japanese blades but didn’t do a good job of it would often bring them to a professional who could fix them. So, the next question is: Should Japanese knives be sharpened? When sharpening Japanese knives, experts say there are two questions to ask:
The first thing you have to think about when sharpening a Japanese knife is whether it has one or two bevels. Most of the time, you shouldn’t sharpen single-bevel knives because the blades are sharper and more fragile because of that. German knives can be sharpened, but double-beveled knives should be sharpened at a sharper angle (11-15 degrees).
When sharpening a Japanese knife, the type of steel the blade is made of is the next most important thing to think about. High-carbon steel is used to make traditional Japanese knives, which makes them thin and easy to break. Because of this, you should only use a water whetstone to sharpen them.
On the other hand, modern Japanese knives are made with steels like VG-10 that are stronger and can therefore be sharpened.
Lastly, ceramic honing steels are the best choice for sharpening Japanese-style knives because they have finer grits and are harder, which is what Japanese-style knives need. Also, this is the only way to clean your Japanese knives that will work.
If you use other kinds of honing steels, the blade might chip and end up being damaged.
How to clean a honing rod
Your regular use may have turned your honing steels a dark color, like black or gray. This dirt is called “swarf,” and it means that your honing steel needs to be cleaned.
As a general rule, you should clean your honing steels after every time you use them. After you have sharpened your knife, wipe it with a dry cloth. Sometimes, you can also scrape off the swarf with a damp cloth that has vinegar on it.
But if you haven’t been cleaning your honing steel often, it might be pleading with you to wipe it down. When this happens, the best thing to do is use oil for honing. Oils used for honing help metal debris come loose, which makes it easier to clean.
Just pour some oil on the steel and let it work to loosen the material. Once you’re done, use a sponge or scrub to clean up the mess. Be careful not to scrub too hard, or your honing steel will get damaged.
