Old timer at a shop in Denver told me to stop using a steel on my boning knives

He grabbed my hand mid-stroke and said 'you're just rolling the edge, get a ceramic rod.' Switched that same day and my knives actually hold up through a whole side of beef now. Anybody else get told this way too late?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_west27d ago

Well hold on now, I actually disagree with this one a bit. I've been using a proper fine steel on my boning knives for over 15 years and they stay sharp through whole pigs and sides of beef just fine. The trick is you have to use a light touch and the right angle, most people mash down too hard and wreck the edge. I think the real problem is how you're using the tool, not what tool you're using.

margaret_kelly5527d ago

My buddy runs a BBQ joint and swore by his steel for years until his knives started chipping bad on brisket fat. Switched to ceramic and called me three days later to say he felt like an idiot for waiting so long.

pat_schmidt6027d agoMost Upvoted

Haha "felt like an idiot" - I bet he was just standing there staring at his chipped knife like it personally betrayed him. I had a buddy who used to sharpen his steel like it was some kind of ritual, spending twenty minutes before every cookout trying to get it perfect. Then he tried my ceramic rod once, just a few passes, and his jaw dropped when he cut through a cold pork shoulder like butter. He never touched his steel again. I think that's the thing with BBQ guys, they get so stuck in their ways that they'd rather fight with a bad tool than admit there's an easier way.