Sharpening Steels

The Idahone 10-inch Coarse Ceramic Sharpening Rod is for cooks who want to bring a dull knife back without setting up a whetstone. Its coarse high-alumina ceramic removes steel faster than Idahone’s fine rods and restores a working edge in a few strokes. The compact length is easy to handle and fits a drawer or a smaller kitchen.
What It Does for Your Knives Coarse ceramic abrasive: Restores sharpness to knives dulled by regular use. A honing steel only realigns the edge. Measured metal removal: The grit is somewhat finer than the coarse rods in Idahone’s V-type sharpeners, so the rod corrects an edge while removing less steel than a sharpening system’s first stage. Compact length: Suits paring knives, utility knives and shorter chef’s knives, and stores easily. For longer blades, the Idahone 12-inch Coarse Ceramic Sharpening Rod allows a full stroke from heel to tip. Wood handle with hanging ring: Provides a secure grip and convenient storage near the cutting board.
Using the Coarse and Fine Rods Together The coarse rod restores the edge, and a fine rod refines it. Use the coarse rod when a knife no longer responds to honing, then finish on the Idahone 10-inch Fine Ceramic Sharpening Rod. For routine maintenance of a knife that is still sharp, the fine rod alone removes less steel and is the better choice. Learn More

The Idahone 10-inch Fine Ceramic Sharpening Rod is for cooks who want to keep a sharp knife sharp with a few strokes before each use. A honing steel only pushes a rolled edge back into line. This high-alumina ceramic rod removes a small amount of steel, so it sharpens and polishes the edge at the same time. Its finish is comparable to a fine Japanese whetstone, which makes it a maintenance tool between full sharpenings rather than a substitute for them.
What It Does for Your Knives Fine ceramic abrasive: Refreshes a working edge in a few light strokes and leaves a smooth, polished finish. Suited to harder steels: Because the rod abrades the edge rather than bending it, it suits the harder steels of many Japanese knives, which tend to wear or chip rather than roll. Fewer whetstone sessions: Regular use keeps an edge in service longer, so full sharpenings are needed less often. Compact length: Handles paring knives, utility knives and shorter chef’s knives. For longer blades, the Idahone 12-inch Fine Ceramic Sharpening Rod, Black Wood Handle allows a full stroke from heel to tip.
Choosing a Fine or Coarse Rod The fine rod is the right tool for routine maintenance of a knife that is still sharp. When a knife no longer responds to it, the Idahone 10-inch Coarse Ceramic Sharpening Rod removes steel faster to restore the edge, and the fine rod then refines it. The same fine rod is also available with a natural maple handle as the Idahone 10-inch Fine Ceramic Sharpening Rod, Hard Rock Maple Handle. Learn More

The Idahone 10-inch Fine Ceramic Sharpening Rod is for home cooks who want a simple, daily way to keep their knives sharp. A honing steel only pushes a rolled edge back into line. This high-alumina ceramic rod removes a small amount of steel, so it sharpens and polishes the edge at the same time. Its finish is comparable to a fine Japanese whetstone, which makes it a maintenance tool between full sharpenings rather than a substitute for them.
What It Does for Your Knives Fine ceramic abrasive: Refreshes a working edge in a few light strokes and leaves a smooth, polished finish. Suited to Japanese and Western knives: Because the rod abrades the edge rather than bending it, it maintains softer German steels and the harder steels of many Japanese knives, which tend to wear or chip rather than roll. Compact length: Handles paring knives, utility knives and shorter chef’s knives, and fits a kitchen drawer. Natural maple handle with hanging ring: Provides a secure grip for steady strokes and keeps the rod within reach near the cutting board.
Other Sizes and Grits For longer blades, the Idahone 12-inch Fine Ceramic Sharpening Rod, Hard Rock Maple Handle allows a full stroke from heel to tip. The same 10-inch rod is also available as the Idahone 10-inch Fine Ceramic Sharpening Rod, Black Wood Handle. When a knife no longer responds to the fine rod, the Idahone 10-inch Coarse Ceramic Sharpening Rod removes steel faster to restore the edge, and the fine rod then refines it. Learn More

The WÜSTHOF 10" Ceramic Sharpening Rod J800 is best for dull to moderately sharp knives. The ceramic surface ensures exceptional sharpening of the blade: with just a few steps you can achieve the desired result. As this sharpener removes a tiny amount of metal from the knife, we recommend using a WÜSTHOF Honing Steel for daily or weekly edge maintenance. JIS800 (Japanese Industrial Standards) Grit 800 this Ceramic Sharpening Rod is intended to put a small bevel on either side of the kitchen knife. (NOT Honing) This rod will put a good ruff edge on your knife with just a few passes, an edge that is ideal for cutting through vegetable skin (tomato, bell pepper) and making thin more even slices. This ceramic rod works very well with Japanese knives that are hard with high rockwell hardness scores but also works very well on German knives that have lost their edge.    Learn More

This 10 inch oval diamond sharpening rod is approximately 600 grit with the flat of the rod perpendicular to the widest part of the hand guard for safety. This Diamond sharpening steel is intended for sharpening not honing, the rod is coated with diamond dust that is course and abrasive and with a couple of passes with the edge of your knife you can restore a blunted knife to a basic edge that has a little bite and is ideal for cutting through vegetables. To find the angle you should be passing your knife along steel at think generally that a Japanese knife will have a smaller angle around 12 to 15 degrees and a German forged knife usually will be at an angle of 18 to 20 degrees. A good trick to using this diamond rod would be to first examine your knives edge and look at how thin or wide the bevel you are working with is to determine the degree of angle you hold your knife relative to the steel, if it is a wide bevel then you can work at a smaller angle, if a thin bevel then hold your knife at a higher angle closer to 20 degrees. Personally I like to lay the blade face flat against the diamond rod and then lift the spine just slighlty so I can better see the bevel touching the steel. This is an oval shaped diamond rod, the flatter oval shaped rods are made that way so the user can better hit the correct angle. In general start with a couple of passes on either side of the blade 3 to 6 passes on both sides at first, then be sure to feel along the edge for a burr starting to develop and look closely at the edge for a bevel to develop. It is important with all sharpening that the user look and feel as the sharpen to know what stage of the process they are at so they don't over or under sharpen.  Learn More

Oval steels make better contact with knife edges than round. This diamond rod is designed to cut a new edge on your knife, as opposed to simply honing. For most users, this is a much simpler and more cost effective way to sharpen a knife than using sharpening stones. Learn More