I like the straightening theory and have heard it all my life. I have reached the conclusion it dont apply to soft knives like Forscheners. Have seen some old Forshner curved boners which had been laid on the steel so many times the blade was about a half inch tall..meaning they were wearing away material in the sharpening process. Now on super hard Kraut knives the theory might be correct. Aint never bothered to desire to own one. Before buying my knives I checked with every live butcher in the Metro Mess. They all say buy Forschners so I did..lol. Never been sorry about it. I got the 12" Granton slicer..the 9" Chefs knife..the 6" curved boner..the paring knife and the steel to keep all sharp as a razor for around a hundred bucks which made it qualify for the free shipping. Get the Fibrox handles. Pros dont like wood handles.