How to Use a Knife Sharpening Steel

Using a knife steel helps smooth out the roughness in the blade, leaving a nice and straight edge in the knife.

Four steps in sharpening your knife:
1. With your left hand (or your right hand if you're left-handed), hold the sharpening steel point-down, with its tip resting firmly on a dry cutting board
2. With your other hand, hold the knife crossways against the steel with the back of the blade (the part nearest the handle) touching the steel. You are going to be pulling the knife backward, toward you, so you want to start with most of the blade in front of the steel.
3. Maintaining a 22½-degree angle, gently pull the blade toward you while simultaneously gliding it downward along the shaft of the steel ten times. You want to cover the entire length of the blade, keeping the blade at that 22½-degree angle the whole time.
4. Switch to the other side of the blade, give it ten more strokes on the steel and you are done!

Tips:
1. Make sure your sharpening steel is at least as long as the blade you are sharpening.
2. After using the sharpening steel, rinse and carefully wipe the knife blade dry with a towel so that any tiny metal filings on the knife's edge do not end up in the food.

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