Favorite knife steels.

[Stock Pot]

My favorites are (in order) carbon steel, Japanese VG-10, American S35.

Carbon steel will rust if you are not careful and will tarnish no matter what you do, but for taking an edge and holding it, I think it has not yet been surpassed. However, there are some stainless steels that are coming up fast. think the VG-10 easily takes a great edge but doesn't hold it quite so long as S35. It also costs less.

For carbon steel, I like the Tosagata knives from japanwoodworker.com. Relatively inexpensive and very traditional.

For VG-10 I like the Shun line, but there are others available.

For S35 I like the ones from NewWestKnifeWorks .com, but they are expensive.

I sharpen my own knives, about twice a year. I maintain them with a ceramic honing rod between uses.

 

[Andy M.]

I have no idea what steel my knives (Henckels Pro S) are made with other than that they are stainless. I sharpen them when I notice they're not sharp (I use a Lansky Deluxe 5 Stone System). A good sharpening seems to last quite a while. I have a steel I apply to the blades after every use.

 

[Stock Pot]

I had a 3 piece set of Henckels 4-Star at one time. I liked them a lot. Easy to sharpen and held up well. Nice balance, too.

 

[RPCookin]

Don't know what stainless formulation my Wusthof Classics are, but they take a good edge and hold it well with regular application of a ceramic hone.

I sharpen any of my knives when needed with a Chef's Choice 3 stage electric sharpener, but I've never had to use the first stage on anything but the severely abused knives (Chicago Cutlery) I got from my mother's kitchen after she passed away.