Honing and Miscellaneous

I find that many people misunderstand the honing steels/ceramics, i.e. those steel or ceramic rods that people, some people, think that they sharpen knives. In other words, they will buy a Steel thinking it is a knife sharpener when it fact it really is maintenance tool. Extremely important to own and very easy to use.
Here is picture I took from a book by Chad Ward called an Edge in the Kitchen. Chad is a brilliant man and the book is very cool, quite informative.

So you can see it being "anchored" on a table and the knife is simply drawn down the length of the steel just like the picture. This will re-align the edge for you and keep a sharp knife sharp.

IT WILL NOT sharpen a knife that is dull, i.e. you can't take a dull knife from the drawer and expect it to be sharp after this process. You can however take a sharp knife and keep it sharp for several months by doing this.

The Edge of your knife is somewhat fragile, so it becomes folded over in some spots, you can't see it or feel it but it is what makes the knife dull. The edge, the cutting edge is not damaged, this is just normal wear and tear.  So regular "steeling" will keep a sharp knife sharp.
You need to remove metal to sharpen a knife and unless the hone is a Diamond Hone it will not do that.
I recommend a ceramic hone myself, that is what I use.

On another note:

By the way, look for me in my new, totally awesome, eye catching vehicle. You know you want one.

One more thing.

Here is knife that cost $3,500 dollars, it is hand made and absolutely incredible to handle, it feels great in the hand. Did you know that when you buy a knife like this or any hand made Japanese knife that in many cases they are not sharpened. You need to do that yourself.

Yes I realize that is strange, I didn't make the knives I'm just telling  you. I believe the purpose is so that when the new owner buys it, he or she knows it is untouched, brand spanking new.