On Aug 28, 1:27*pm, "Bob-tx" <No Spam no contact> wrote:
> My best friend and I agree on a lot of things. *We both like to barbecue and
> grille, we both like Canadian whisky, we both like to look at pretty women,
> and we both like sharp knives - which is where the disagreement comes in.
>
> I sharpen my knives on Arkansas stones, a soft stone to get the initial edge
> back, and a hard stone to finish it off.
>
> He "sharpens" his knives on a steel, like the butchers use.
>
> I maintain that a steel does not sharpen a dull knife, in the sense that it
> does not remove any of the knife blade metal. *The purpose of a steel is to
> correct a wire edge on a knife. *A wire edge is a knife edge that has rolled
> over from hitting a bone or something hard. *In the sense that it corrects
> the wire edge, it does make the knife sharper, but once a knife is dull, a
> steel will not sharpen it.
>
> We have a steak dinner for four riding on this, so come on people - I need
> some support here. *Thanks
>
> Bob-tx

Where's Fosco when ya need him?

Anyway, you are corrrect. As proof, challenge him to find online
instructions on knife sharpening that uses a steel. A Steel
is for maintaining the edge made by a stone.

http://www.hub-uk.com/cooking/tipsknives.htm