![A Complete Guide to the Best Honing Steel [2024]](https://knivesadvisor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/A-Complete-Guide-to-The-Best-Honing-Steel.jpg)
There is no substitute for a high quality honing steel to keep your knives in their best possible condition. These handy accessories help your knife take an edge when properly used.
Which is the best? Our guide will show you what features to look for and how to choose the right honing steel, and our reviews will give you the detailed information on the top 10 available on the market today.
Quick List of the Best Honing Steels
- J.A. Henckels International Fine Edge Pro 9-Inch Honing Steel
- Victorinox Swiss Classic 10-Inch Honing Steel
- TUO Cutlery Fiery Series Stainless Honing Steel
- DALSTRONG Honing Steel 10″ Full Tang
- TradaFor Honing Rod – 8 Inch Stainless Honing Steel
- SUMPRI 12 Inch Professional Chef Honing Steel
- Shun DM0750 Honing Steel
- Top Cut P2 Series 1022452 Diamond Coated Honing Steel
- Victorinox Diamond Honing Steel 12-Inch Oval with Hollow Core
- Victorinox Honing Steel 12-Inch Round Regular Cut
Review of The Best Honing Steels
1. J.A. Henckels International Fine Edge Pro 9-Inch Honing Steel
Maintains knives
Honing steel maintains knives in between each sharpening for centering and balance.
Durable
The handle is made of strong polypropylene which is durable and holds up under frequent use.
Ergonomic
The smooth handle fits well in the hand and is comfortable to prevent hand fatigue.
High quality
This honing steel is made from high quality stainless steel and polypropylene materials to deliver the best possible performance and it’s backed by a lifetime guarantee.
Light weight
This honing steel weighs 16 ounces. The weight is ideal for maintaining stability when honing knives on a solid surface.
2. Victorinox Swiss Classic 10-Inch Honing Steel
Stainless Steel material
Stainless steel is an excellent medium for fast honing in between sharpening as well as for restoring the integrity of a dull knife.
Chrome plated
Chrome plating reinforces the strength and durability of this stainless steel honing steel. It also increases hardness and stain resistance.
Textured handles
Textured handles provide a non-slip grip for extra protection from injury due to accidental slips. This handle is designed to fit perfectly in your hand for maximum control and comfort.
Looped End
The looped end design makes it easy to store this honing steel on a hook or other convenient place for easy access.
Easy clean
The Victorinox Swiss Classic features a design and materials that makes it easy to clean. Just wipe with a damp cloth after each use and it’s ready for the next time.
Excellent balance
This lightweight steel weighs just 1 pound and it is evenly balanced for better control.
3. TUO Cutlery Fiery Series Stainless Honing Steel with Pakkawood Handle
Pakka wood handle
The handle is made from Pakka wood which has been sourced from Africa. This material is strikingly attractive and it is also strong and durable.
Ergonomic design
The handle is designed to fit perfectly in your hand with an ergonomic structure that makes it comfortable to decrease hand fatigue when using the steel for longer periods of time.
Weighted and balanced
The total weigh of this steel is 1.3 pounds with an even distribution of weight. Balance is important in making the steel easy to control and stable to avoid accidental slips.
Multi-functional use
The Tuo Cutlery Fiery Honing steel is versatile for use with all types of knives and shears.
4. DALSTRONG Honing Steel 10″ Full Tang, Pakkawood Handle
10 inch honing steel
The length of this steel is the ideal size to hone most knives. It’s designed with tiny grooves along the surface of the steel to bring the blade back and leave a straight edge and improved alignment.
Attractive bolster
The bolster is attractively formed to serve as protection for your hand. This allows you to use the entire length of the steel for sharpening longer knives.
Ergonomic Pakka wood handle
The pakka wood handle is very attractive and has been sourced from Spain. This is a hard wood that is highly durable and comfortable to hold. It’s ergonomically designed with a solid grip handle that is formed and contoured for a perfect fit.
Triple riveted
The handle is fixed to the honing steel with three rivets that bind the steel to the handle firmly. This makes the steel durable to hold up under heavy use.
Carbon steel material
This honing steel is made with high quality carbon steel with a high resistance to staining.
5. TradaFor Honing Rod – 8 Inch Stainless Honing Steel
Ergonomic safety handle
The handle is made of durable materials that are formed in an oval shape to give you a firm grip with total control of the honing steel. This also makes the handle comfortable to hold to help in preventing hand fatigue.
High quality steel
The material used to create the honing steel is first class stainless steel. This means that it will not rust, tarnish or corrode.
Professional quality
This stainless honing steel is the perfect solution for home kitchens or use in professional settings. The long rod has ridges running across its length and hones knives of all sizes and types, and it’s the perfect solution for realigning, centering and shaping the blade edge. It’s designed for home use and for chefs.
Easy cleaning
You should clean your honing steel in between uses. Just wipe with a damp cloth and the steel is ready for the next time you need it.
Lightweight
This honing steel is very lightweight, yet durable. It weighs just 6.4 ounces so your hands won’t become fatigues when using it.
Easy to use
Enjoy a convenient and easy to use honing steel. Simply run the blade across the honing rod and when you drag the microscopic edge of the metal upright you get back much of the cutting power of the knife.
6. SUMPRI 12 Inch Professional Chef Honing Steel
12 inch rod
The 12 inch rod is the perfect length for honing and maintaining knives or all sizes. It’s lightweight and easy to use
Carbon steel
The rod is made of high quality carbon steel that is the ideal hardness to fit most kitchen knife types. It’s excellent for improving knife edges for centering and aligning blades making them up to 10 times more efficient.
Ergonomic handle
The ergonomic handle is large and designed to fit all hands, making the honing steel easy to use.
Magnetic knife bar
The magnetic knife strip is included to help you organize your knives and the honing steel, storing them in one convenient place. The strip is designed to hang in any nook or cranny and it’s more efficient than knife blocks because it takes up less space.
Safety design
The honing rod features an enlarged plastic part that is located on the front portion of the handle. This is an extra safety feature to guard your hand from accidental injury.
7. Shun DM0750 Honing Steel
Steel construction
This 9 and 1/4 inch rod is made from high quality and durable stain resistant steel. It resists rusting for years of quality performance.
Safety guard
The built-in protective guard is an additional safety feature that keeps your fingers safe from accidental injury.
Ebony Pakkawood handle
The handle is made from a collection of fused hardwood veneers and resin that are formed into an ergonomic handle. Pakkawood is attractive and extremely durable and the design of this handle makes it comfortable to hold and easy to use.
Unique rod design
The steel rod is made with miniscule lengthwise ridges that correct knife blades and keep them in their optimum condition.
8. Top Cut P2 Series 1022452 Diamond Coated Honing Steel, 10.25-Inch
Forged carbon steel
This honing steel is forged from a high alloy carbon steel that gives it the ideal hardness for sharpening most knives.
Extra thickness
The 3/8 inch diameter of this honing rod makes it extra solid and durable for safety and long life.
Industrial diamond coating
Industrial diamond coating gives you a range of fine to medium abrasion that is suitable for use on all knives to center and align them to increase their efficiency and longevity.
Wide bolster
The wide bolster is a design feature that makes using this honing steel safer because it protects your hands and fingers from accidental injuries while honing knives and shears.
Contoured handles
The handles are designed to provide a comfortable and secure grip in your hand. This prevents accidental slips and potential injuries. It also cuts down on hand fatigue when you have several knives to hone in one setting.
9. Victorinox Diamond Honing Steel 12-Inch Oval with Hollow Core, Black Plastic Handle
Multi-functional
The Victorinox Diamond Honing Steel is suitable for honing, straightening and resharpening a variety of different knives and scissors.
Ideal for dull or abused knives
You can easily correct knives that have been abused or thin down blade edges of dull knives.
Lightweight hollow core
The hollow core makes this honing steel lightweight to cut down on hand fatigue and provide greater user control.
Oval shape
The oval shape of this honing steel makes it ideal for accommodating any size blade with an oval shape that gives you a bigger surface area.
Protective hand guard
The protective hand guard is an additional safety feature that protects your hand and fingers while honing knives.
10. Victorinox Honing Steel 12-Inch Round Regular Cut, Black Plastic Handle
12 inch regular cut
The 12 inch rod of this honing steel makes it suitable for honing knives of all sizes and most types with ease. The regular cut means that it is more efficient than a fine cut and it more quickly straightens edges or dulled knives that need to have the edges thinned. It cuts down on hand fatigue for bigger jobs.
Hones and preserves edge
The regular cut also works for keeping knives that are already sharp, the sharpest possible without using a knife sharpener.
Ideal for butchers knives
The toothier edge of this honing steel makes the job go quicker by removing more particles in miniscule amounts faster without damaging the knife blade.
Double sided
This honing steel is double sided with 2 smooth and 2 finely grooved sides placed opposite of each other for a honing steel that performs highly with most knife types.
Important Factors to Consider Before Buying
Not all honing steels are made the same, so its’ important to know what to look for before you make your final choice. They may all look similar, but they don’t all perform as well. They come in a variety of different materials, lengths and weights.
Types of honing steels
- Stainless steel
- Ceramic
- Diamond
Of the three different types of honing steels, the stainless and diamond take the most material from the knife. This is useful for preparing dull knives for sharpening, but it also takes a little more of the blade material than a ceramic honing steel. The amount of material removed is microscopic, so most chefs prefer the diamond or stainless to make the honing process go a little faster, but ceramic steels are good for knives that are made of weaker metals. The average chef will tell you that any of the three will work just fine.
Handle comfort
Look for a honing steel that has a durable handle that will hold up under frequent use. It should also be ergonomic, or comfortable to lessen the chance of the steel slipping while you’re honing, and causing accidental injury.
Weight
Some steels are lighter and more balanced than others. A heavy or awkward honing steel isn’t the best choice, while a lighter balanced kind will make it easier on your hands and safer to use.
Length
Honing steels come in several different lengths. The length is the most important consideration to make because the steel must be long enough to hone loner knife blades.
The best length is a 12 inch honing steel. This length even allows you to hone serrated edge blades with a vertical method. The 12 inch length does not include the additional length added by the handle.
Some Frequently Asked Questions
What is a honing steel?
A honing steel is a tool that helps to align your knife by straightening out the blade and centering it in the right way. It shaves off a tiny amount of the blade and corrects the edge. It is not a sharpener. The two are often confused and although honing corrects the edge, it may look sharper, but this isn’t the intention of a honing steel.
Benefits of using honing steel
Using a honing steel will keep your knife centered and correct any problems with the edge due to wear. It keeps your blade centered and prevents the steel from becoming misaligned. This can affect the balance, so honing is a very important part of knife upkeep and maintenance. Ultimately, the benefits of honing your knives are:
- Keeps the knife straight and centered
- Corrects the edge
- Promotes better sharpening
- Helps the knife have a better balance
How often do you need to hone your knife?
Some people only hone their knives once a week, but most of the top chefs hone their knives after every use. The benefits are so great that we recommend giving your knives a honing treatment after each use. You can hone your knives several times a day if you do a lot of cooking and use them frequently.
Does honing your knife sharpen the blade?
Your knife blade may look and feel a little sharper after you hone it, but honing is not sharpening. A sharpener takes off more material to get a razor edge and honing does not take enough off to make it truly sharp.
How to use the honing steel?
Step 1-> Begin at the Heel: Hold the handle of the honing steel and start with the tip of it planted into the cutting board. In a 15 to 20 degree angle, apply the heel of the knife against the top of the honing steel.
Step 2-> End at The Tip (part I): With a light application of pressure, draw he knife blade down the steel and make sure to go the entire length of the steel, keeping the same angle.
Step 3-> Hone these next side: Repeat the same process that you did in step one for the other side of the knife. Pull at the same angle with the same amount of light pressure.
Step 4-> End side 2: Repeat the same process for step two on the second knife side and this is the complete process. It may take a few practice runs until you’re comfortable, but soon, you’ll be honing like a pro. Give each side 8 strokes for a complete honing each time you hone.
Final Verdict
Now that you know what to look for, our reviews of the top 10 honing steels on the market give you a wide range of choices. Each has unique features and most are affordable. If you’re still wondering which honing steel is the best, begin by choosing the one with the features and benefits you’d appreciate the most.
For example, thee Victorinox Honing Steel 12 inch round regular cut can be used on most knives, but if you cut a lot of meat or use butcher’s knives, this may be the best choice. The Sumpri 13 inch comes with a magnetic holder that you can hang in a convenient area to store your honing steel and several knives together.
All 10 are top notch and one is not better than the other, but everyone has their own unique needs and personal preferences, so we give you a good variety to choose from.