Mine are probably 10 - 15 years old now, and the honing steel isn’t really doing much any more. Probably time for professional sharpening, or, I suppose, I could risk damage and try a stone on them. Anybody care to suggest an angle?
20 degrees.
20-23 degrees is generally the recommended angle for kitchen cutlery (aside from a cleaver, which should be something more like 35 degrees).
For the most part, a “honing steel” doesn’t really do anything. The general explanation is that it “aligns the edge”, i.e. it keeps a wire edge straight, but in all honesty it does nothing useful that a good couple of swipes on an extra-fine grit stone wouldn’t take care of. (Some “steels” do actually sharpen, but a flat stone is generally better.) And for the most part “professional sharpening” is anything but. A medium/fine grit stone is adequate to keep most knives in shape for duty.
Stranger
I have two really good knives my dad gave me a hundred years ago, when I was first setting up housekeeping. One is a chef’s knife I cherish and use daily; the other is a boning knife I rarely use (I don’t bone things). They both have “Marks Ironwood No Stain” and “Forged Brazil” stamped on their blades. I also have a cheap but sturdy bread knife, a Chicago Cutlery 107S paring knife, a 71S knife of the same brand (both are serviceable but don’t hold an edge worth a damn), and some outrageously cheap Tramontina vinyl-handled, serrated knives which were a gift from someone I love and which came in a nice wood block. Unfortunately, the knives I actually use don’t quite fit in the block, although I stick them in there anyway. I could probably use a cleaver, but my chef’s knife does most jobs for me quite handily.
I suspect most home kitchens are like mine: full of various bits and pieces that I’ve acquired, often as gifts, over the years, with very little rhyme or reason to the overall collection. I could probably use a trip to a commercial supply store, but I can’t stand to give up any of the things my well-meaning relatives have bestowed on me over the years.
By golly, that’s the set I got as a “free gift” - Looks like I’d do better tossing them in the trash than even giving them to Goodwill. All they’re doing now is collecting dust on the counter.
I like a paring knife as well since although I can do delicate work with the tip of the chef’s, I’m better at it with the paring knife.
I’d been eyeing Global for a chef’s knife but so far I’ve stuck with my Chicago Cutlery chef’s knife because of its nice broad blade and good handling. (Don’t worry, that knife alone cost more than the set linked to here.) I always see the knives in the store and think the blade size doesn’t compare - I like using it as a garlic smasher too - so perhaps I’ll have to trace the blade size on paper and bring it to the store. I have a Global serrated knife for bread (scalloped edge, not that “never needs sharpening” rough edge), and a Calphalon paring knife.
My favorite knife is some el-cheapo that I have to sharpen every time I use it. But it gets VERY sharp with very little effort. I would rather have a knife that’s easy to sharpen and doesn’t cost a fortune then a very expensive knife that has hard steel and is harder to sharpen. I don’t have to worry about it either, it can go in the dishwasher (and has) and just gets thrown in the knife drawer.
Low maintenance yet sharp (it literally takes 10 seconds to sharpen).
I never see those TV chefs using those expensive and heavy (4 lb) 100% copper/tin-linced pans. My guess is, copper pans are so damn heavy, and the tin lining is fragile. how many people actually use copper pots?
My sister-in-law does, every day. And then she polishes the copper bottoms so they’ll gleam when she hangs them up.
I hate my sister-in-law.
I hate your sister-in-law, too! 
Grandma has one copper bowl that’s for eggs (it’s supposed to make them beat higher or fluffier or something?) that most of the grandkids are already fighting over in the will (and she’s not dead yet.) I say let 'em have the horrid thing!
That’s just the point, when the University of Berkley tested 100’s of cutting boards by smearing them with salmonella and other cultures, they found that the little nooks and crannies isolated the bacteria and caused it to die out faster than a plastic one which allowed them to grow and multiply. Think about it, thousands of years of cutting boards and we haven’t died out as a species due to food poisoning. I’ll look for a cite.
For sure, but nobody uses wooden utensils for anything post-boil! I wasn’t trying to say that plastic is perfect, but rather that wooden utensils aren’t really considered sanitizable.
Post boil, it’s always glass, plastic or stainless steel, with the plastic stuff getting replaced every so often.
(speaking of that, I have to go get more tubing today- I’m going to try my hand at an Oktoberfest tomorrow!)
I use this clamp/guide on my large knives, and I really have to pick up a smaller guide for my paring knives. Doing it freehand is nigh impossible.
Get thee to Northwest Cutlery on Lake, just west of Haslted, on the north side of the street. It’s only a couple of bucks to sharpen knives there, you only need to do it once, possibly twice a year. Do not use those cheapie $10-$20 diamond sharpeners or whatever. They are awful. If you do want to learn how to sharpen your knife, it’s imperitive to get a sharpening stone, but I don’t bother as it’s easy enough to stop by northwest Cutlery.
I have Henckels knives myself, but stop raggin on Chicago Cutlery, people! They make some amazing knives, as long as you stay away from the cheapies.
This makes me feel better about the giant oak-topped island I just bought. I scrubbed it to within an inch of its life with water, then with lemon juice, then just water.
My wife and I like to go to estate sales. Mainly we are there to look at the houses, but a couple of months ago there was a knife block sitting on a counter. It had an 8" chef’s knife, a 10" serrated bread knife and an 8" utility knife all Henkel’s Professional S series. There was also a Henkel" steel.
Priced to sell: $25.00
It is now sitting on my counter…
I’d skip the lemon juice and just scrub, but to each his own. Also about once a year or so give it a good rubbing with mineral oil.
I’ve got a set of Eberhard Schaaf (Goldhamster) knives bought over the years.
Probably cost over four hundred dollars, inclluding the steel.
They’re great. Anybody else have these?
I received a Henckel International 8" Chefs knife for my birthday a few years ago. I loved it. So since then I have gotten a 6" Chefs knife, a 4" paring knife, 7" bread knife and a 8" carving knife (all Henckel International- Spain).
They all averaged ~$60-$70 CAN per knife, well worth it.
I keep them sharp with one of these:
I put an edge on the knife, then “clean” it up with a Henckel steel. I’m sure it’s not the “right” way to do it, but damn-it it gets my knives pretty freaking sharp!
MtM
Look no further. You’re both right! (It’s a floor wax and a dessert topping!) The Staff Report that addresses this question.
It does indeed, similar to using cream of tartar.