mikehende,

I can't answer about cleavers because I never have sharpened mine (I
don't use it that often though), but I do have a similar Chef's Choice
machine to the one in the photo (my invidual slots may be different in
exactly what they do though). I don't know if one is even supposed to
use one of these with a *cleaver.*

As for knives though, the round sword thing you referred to is probably
a "steel"... today they can be made also from ceramic, glass or
diamond-impregnated metal. A steel is used between true sharpenings
(where metal is actually removed from the blade) and it just
straightens the sort of microscopically-bent edge (which has the effect
of making it sharper than it was before steeling).
The steel is held upright in one hand and the knife makes an equal
number of passes over each side of it (at 20 degree angle or something
like that)... picture Daffy Duck or a similar cartoon figure pretending
to be a chef, "sharpening" his huge knife very quickly in front of his
chest in the air, and you'll get the idea.... there are various places
online that describe in more detail the motions for using a steel).

A knife blade shouldn't be getting dull enough to need sharpening
several times a week though, unless you're cutting a lot of stuff or
cutting something really hard or doing it on a hard surface (do you use
a wood or plastic board?, or maybe cut bones, etc.?).
Knives can be steeled with every use, but home cooks don't generally
need to do it that often unless they want.

As for the Chef's Choice machine, they can vary but mine has one slot
for sharpening, one slot for the equivalent of steeling (I think), and
one for polishing off the tiny burrs created from the previous slots.
So I don't use the first slot until using 2+3 together don't work well
any longer.


Hope some of that helps,

Diane B.
http://www.glassattic.com --polymer clay "encyclopedia"