Sharpening Tools

Sharpening Steels

There are essentially 2 kinds of Sharpening steels. The traditional metal steel and diamond steels.
A traditional metal steel aligns the edge of a knife and is good for maintaining knives that are in reasonably good shape. Sharpening steels should be used frequently and the most important detail that should be observed when using sharpening steel is maintaining a consistent angle.

A diamond steel is essentially a sharpening stick . Instead of using metal to realign an edge; a diamond steel uses and abrasive grit to cut a new edge into a knife. They work very well when knives are dull but overuse can take unnecessary metal off your knife or change its shape.

Sharpening Stones

Sharpening Stones: Stones are used to completely restore the edge on a dull knife. Most stones are man made from Carborundum and some are natural as in Arkansas stones. . Larger stones work better because there is more surface area and the higher the grit of a stone, the smoother the stone and the smoother the cutting edge will be.

IMPORTANT : Sharpening stones require skill to use and aren’t for everyone.

Sharpening Machines

Some sharpening machines are designed to be very easy to use and others are designed to provide results more accurate than a traditional sharpening stone. As with sharpening stones you are not re-aligning the edge, you are creating a new edge. If not used properly they also can change the shape of the knife which might make the knife unable to use.