My only f dick is a offset bread knife it works very well

I should have the lot in a few days and will update then. I suppose I should go shoot another deer or two tomorrow.

Right.

When I started using steels some years ago it was a game-changer. No more swapping out knives or stopping to sharpen. A few swipes to realign the edge gets you back in business. I keep one in the shed and one in the kitchen.

I still sharpen after X amount of fox skinning or deer butchering but the steel keeps me going until the jobs are done.

Owned a few over the years and there good quality . As a meat cutter I pretty much started using forschner knives in the late 90's as they were easier to get from most of our suppliers and saved on shipping costs. There steels are the standard in the business but not cheap by any means.

Here is a reply from a while ago, About using a steel,


I am so much better explaining things in person than I am in Writing...Please forgive my rambling and grammar and punctuation or lack of, I'm going to trust spellcheck for the rest.

My supply of stuff is dried up at least for the time being. I still have boning and butcher knives and scabbards but skinners and steels are mostly gone; at least what I will sell are.

I will share my Opinions and what I know about keeping a knife.

It is important to know the difference between sharpening and using a steel.
....Perhaps an oversimplification is... Sharpening removes steel from the knife...Using a Steel straightens an exiting edge.

The diamond and Ceramic sticks are sharpeners not steels as they remove steel and will change the angle of the edge of the knife.

When a knife begins to "drag" or feel dull when you are using it the edge is no longer straight. If you were to look at the edge of the knife in good light and maybe with a magnifier of some sort you will see the edge is beginning to have a wave in it. The edge of a super sharp knife will almost be invisible when looked at down the edge.

Think of a piece of string as the edge of your knife and if the string is pulled tight and straight it is as sharp as it can be.
Using a steel is making that edge straight again.


OK>>>>

Things to make using a steel easy. There are many people who use different techniques and I am not saying they are wrong. I feel that this way is the easiest way to teach.

1. Be gentle and deliberate when you are learning. I suggest holding both Steel and knife lightly and with your thumb and index finger stabilized with your little finger. This helps to insure a genital pressure

2. point the sharp end of the steel at your nose. So that you see the end of the steel and then your index and thumb.

3. place the edge of your knife against the steel and choose an angle about 20-30 degrees but do pay attention so that you can match it on the other side of the steel with the other side of the knife.

4. slowly and gently draw the blade along the steel from the handle to the tip. starting from the point of the steel. Holding like I suggested above helps to insure that you are gentle. Be careful of your steel hand...

Listen to the sound the blade makes as you move it down the steel and it will help to insure the angle on the other side along with looking down the steel..

Steels are a tool and personal preference and confidence in yourself and the tool makes all of the difference in the world as to how they work for you.

Sharpening is also necessary and there is a bazillion ways to do that. but a steel can make the times between sharpening longer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is likely going to cost me some business... .

Coarse Steels seem to work faster, for you they may, It is easier to hear and feel when your angles and pressure the same on each side of the knife.

Smooth Steels do the same job as a coarse steel maybe a slightly straighter edge (I'm not sure) Again personal preference comes into play. This is what I learned on at the packing house.

Longer steels are easier to use with longer knives, but a shorter will work just as well. 7-8 inch seems most common and work very well on most any knife you take to it.

A longer knife blade is easier for me to steel. I have a bit of trouble on blades shorter than a paring knife, I also have some problems with shorter thicker blades like a buck 110.

Garage sale/Thrift store steels work. I once talked to a guy who used a 3/8 snap on extension as a steel. the back of another knife also works in a jam.

Wipe your steel clean after use, use a green pad if real gunky, Store dry and clean.

Great explanation, Mike. Thanks!

Gave the wife an F.Dick chef knife a few years ago. It is her favorite. We keep it razor sharp.

My favorite steel is an F.Dick hypersteel. Discovered this when I worked as a fish cleaner several summers. Rarely had to sharpen a knife once it was sharpened. That springy steel keeps the edge perfect. I would stroke my knife on the steel about every 20 minutes to keep the edge straight. We ran the knives on the electric sharpener about once every three weeks. Before we got the hypersteel, we ran the knives on the machine every day before starting.

You sound like you have your ducks in a row, would you recommend a steel that is effective with f. Dick knives? I already have them on order.

IMO, Steels are personal preference item, Smooth or ribbed both work and do the same job.

Learning to use a steel is the important part of it.

The above post is as good as I can do without being able to show you...

Remember Light touch and consistent angles are important.