Honing rods, also known as "steel" are an essential tool for maintaining a knife's fine razor edge. With use, the blade curls over with use, effectively dulling the edge. A few gentle swims on each side of the blade helps realign the edge, making it razor sharp again. Routine use of a honing rod—we recommend a few swipes every time you use the knife--will greatly prolong the duration in between sharpening, which in turn a knife's lifespan. Using a honing rod on their knives is a daily thing for professionals. It’s used before beginning prep and sometimes mid-prep if they find that the blade isn’t gliding through food as well as it was before. A home cook can dramatically improve their knife skills and speed in the kitchen if they adopt this habit, too. A sharp knife is a safer knife and also a faster knife! When it comes to honing rods, we prefer ceramic over metal, which does a better job of restoring the edge across a broad range of blade steels. Plus, this bull-nosed rod has achieved near-diamond hardness without incorporating literal diamond dust, which can strip metal from your knife and cause damage. Includes a ring for hanging and a sturdy hard-rock maple handle.