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John Kane John Kane is offline
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Default Is this a knife sharpener?

On Feb 1, 1:38 pm, Jennyanniedots > wrote:
> > All my steels have very shallow, practically microscopic
> > striations. If you run your fingers down the shaft it feels
> > smooth, but if you rub your fingers around the circumference of
> > the rod you can tell its striated as there's some friction to it.

>
> > This is probably what the OP has as well. Is this the kind
> > you're referring to, or one that is completely smooth?

>
> The striations run the long way and are very visible, even with the
> naked eye. I'm confused about the difference between sharpening the
> blade and realigning the edge. Is that what causes the blade to dull -
> misalignment? I'm envisioning the edge of the blade getting bent over
> slightly in one direction or the other. Am I visualizing this
> correctly? It sounds like I should buy a better knife sharpener.
> Recommendations?
>
> Thanks!
> -Jen


Think of it more like the blade looks like a comb and the teeth get a
bit bent.
Sharp blade
||||||||||

Dull blade
/\||//||\\/\|

The steel realigns the teeth so it works again.

A smooth steel applied regularly makes a great difference in how well
the knife cuts. I don't think I've ever seen a striated one.

You probably should have a knife sharpener too but as Dave Bell points
out they are two different things. You probaly should use the steel
every time you use the knife. You probably need to sharpen the knife
once or twice a year at most.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada