Good quality tools need care. This includes regular sharpening. Even the best knives lose their sharpness with time. It's only fun to work with sharp knives: the knife glides effortlessly through the food to be cut, produces a beautiful cut pattern and the risk of injury is reduced. No knife lover should be without a good sharpening steel or knife sharpener. The more often you sharpen your knives, the longer they will stay sharp with maximum edge retention.
A sharpening steel, also called a sharpening rod or honing steel, is used to keep the knife edge sharp, straighten it and hone it. The edge retention can be extended with the sharpening steel so that the knives stay sharp longer and thus need to be resharpened less often. If a sharpening steel is not used, the knives will quickly become very blunt and then have to be resharpened with professional grinding machines.
Our over 145 years of experience in the manufacturing of sharpening steels make us absolute professionals in the area of sharpening. Our production in Deizisau – a combination of traditional craftsmanship and modern production technology – defines the exceptional quality, functionality and performance of our sharpening steels. That's why professionals trust us and why we are the quality market leader for sharpening steels. Even the blank of the F. DICK sharpening steel blade differs from other suppliers: it is made of high-quality steel and has precision tapering at the tip, thus making it easier to guide the knife on the blade. The surface of the blank is very finely ground before the cuts are applied and the tip and all other sharp edges are rounded by hand. The sharpening steel cuts are then applied. We have two methods for applying these. The cuts of the sharpening steel may be cut into the complete steel body with a cutting file using machines and tools developed by us that are gentle on the material. In the process, the cuts are pressed into the surface, creating what is known as the standard cut. In the second process, the cuts are pulled using a pull file which removes material. This process is used, for example, to create the sapphire cut of our legendary DICKORON. The files essentially determine the quality of the sharpening steel cuts. These special files are still produced by us today with our many years of experience as a file manufacturer. Better cutting results are achieved with the uniform cuts of both methods and the knives retain a razor like sharpness. Our special hardening process is crucial to the quality of the finished sharpening steel. Because we only harden the outer layer – the core remains tough, shatter-proof and stable. The sharpening steel must be harder than the knife so that material erodes from the cutting edge of the knife when it is being re-sharpened. Our sharpening steels have a surface hardness of at least 66 HRC. With a lower hardness, there is a risk that the knife edge will not be sharpened properly and the sharpening steel surface will wear very quickly. Afterwards, the sharpening steel blades are magnetised, thus drawing the knife edge slightly towards the steel and guiding it during sharpening. This gives you effective support when sharpening. Every knife cutting edge acquires the perfect sharpness. Furthermore, the fine material that is abraded from the knife adheres to the sharpening steel and not to the cutting edge of the knife or to the food being cut thanks to the magnetisation. Finally, the sharpening steel blade is electroplated. This special coating gives the sharpening steel an additional surface hardness and protects it against corrosion and damage.
The sharpening steel with the original round cross-section is still available today in a slightly modified shape along with other shapes having been developed over time. In the course of time we have developed further forms, so we now offer not only the classic round sharpening steel, but also oval, square and flat sharpening steels. The larger contact area is an advantage of the oval and flat form when sharpening knives. The length of the sharpening steel depends on the length of the knife blade. The sharpening steel blade should be able to sharpen the entire cutting edge of the knife in one cut if possible. Choose the length of the sharpening steel according to the longest knife blade you use. We have sharpening steels not only in various shapes but also in special surfaces or materials. You can choose between a rough cut, standard cut or fine cut depending on the desired material abrasion. For the specialist, the sharpening steel is also available without a cut with a polished surface for straightening the cutting edge. Do you have a knife with a particularly high hardness? No problem: the DICKORON Titan has a special coating for this purpose so that knives with a high grade of hardness are also easy to keep sharp. Our extensive range satisfies every requirement.
You can use a ripe tomato to check whether a knife is sufficiently sharp. A knife that is still sharp will cut into the skin of a tomato without requiring any great effort. If this does not happen, it is time to re-sharpen the knife with a suitable sharpening steel. We recommend sharpening the cutting edge with frequent, short sharpening before or after each use. Do not wait until you feel that your knife is losing its sharpness.
To sharpen the knife, pull the blade several times alternately from the left and right along the entire length of the sharpening steel. Important: an equal number on both sides. Guide the blade on the sharpening steel at a bracket of 15-20°. Note: Sharpening steels are only suitable for knives with a smooth cutting edge. For more information on how to handle and care for your sharpening steel, click here.
F. DICK sharpening steels are available with different cuts. The cut, also called fluting, determines the surface quality and the abrasion on the cutting edge of the knife. We offer different sharpening steel cuts depending on the desired material abrasion. The more often you sharpen your knives on the sharpening steel, the longer they will stay sharp with maximum edge retention.
A certain surface and roughness on the sharpened cutting edge is obtained depending on the coarseness or fineness of the sharpening steel cut. The extent of the surface roughness is a result of the grooves created during the sharpening. The grooves are transverse to the cutting edge when sharpened correctly. A cutting edge profile with more or less pronounced serrations (saw-like) is formed on the cutting edge itself at the point that the grooves from both sides of the knife meet, depending on the depth of the grooves. Whether a smooth or somewhat rough cutting edge profile is required depends on the knives’ intended use. A serrated cutting edge penetrates the “hardness” of the food to be cut (the skin of fruit and vegetables, bread, the crust from roasts, etc.) easier than a smooth cutting edge. In contrast, a cutting edge that is as smooth and thin as possible is ideal when cutting soft food such as raw meat because the food being cut is not shredded and a clear cutting pattern is created.
Regular Cut - High abrasion
Fine Cut - Straightening of the cutting edge
Polished - For straightening and polishing the cutting edge