Honing steels

A honing steel works best when used on soft types of steel. In any case, the honing steel should be harder than the knife itself. However, don’t confuse the honing steel with a [sharpening steel](/en/ct/sharpening-steel.htm). After all, those tools are made to lightly sharpen your knife.


## What does a honing steel do?


It's inevitable: over time, each knife will become blunt when you use it. Little burrs emerge on the blade. However, burrs cannot be seen by the naked eye, so we are not referring to ‘holes’ in the edge of your knife. A honing steel, which should be harder than the knife, pushes these burrs back. 

The honing steel should always be larger than the knife you want to use it on. That's why honing steels come in different sizes. This will make your knife a little sharper. If your knife is truly blunt, it will not become sharper when you use a honing steel. After all, you can only use a [sharpening stone](/en/ct/sharpening-stones-and-whetstones.htm) or ceramic [sharpening steel](/en/ct/sharpening-steel.htm) to do that.



## How do you use a honing steel?

You can hold a honing steel in your hand and run the knife - held in your other hand - along it. For more stability, however, we recommend placing the honing steel with the tip vertically on a cutting board. You then hold the handle at the top. Then take the knife in your other hand and place it with the tip against the top of the honing steel (i.e. near the handle). The edge of the knife should face you. Always maintain a 20-degree angle for European knives and a smaller angle (around 15 degrees) for Asian knives. Now move the knife away from you while pulling (at the same angle) the edge across the honing steel. Repeat at the bottom of the honing steel to do the other side. Learn more about [how to use a honing steel](/en/ct/the-use-of-a-sharpening-steel.htm).


## How do you keep your honing steel in great shape?


When you use your knives on a daily basis, you can always move them over a honing steel. However, the result is that the steel will get a dark colour. Fortunately, you can easily clean your steel using a paper towel and a couple of drops of olive oil or sunflower oil. And don’t forget: honing steels are susceptible to wear and tear, so even these tools need to be replaced after some time.


## Honing steel or whet steel?


One term you will often come across is 'whet steel'. But is that different from a honing steel? The short answer is no. A whet steel and a honing steel are the same thing. However, there is a big difference between a honing steel and a sharpening steel. A sharpening steel is intended to sharpen your knives. A diamond or ceramic honing steel does not exist. Diamond or ceramic sharpening steels do exist.

Honing steels are used for daily maintenance of your kitchen knives. You cannot use honing steels to sharpen your knives, you use them to restore a bent edge. This way, you can give a slightly blunt knife some of its sharpness back without taking away any material. For long-term maintenance, however, you should use sharpening tools.

Honing steel: for the finishing touch