You cannot harm an edge by honing it too much but if your angle is too great, you can roll the edge over, rendering the knife blunt. The MOST IMPORTANT thing is that you set your angle correctly at 15º for Japanese knives or 20º for Western knives.
Since the honing steel removes no material, it also does not wear down your knife. It's best to use a honing steel on a regular basis for the best results. Preferably right before or after each use of your knife.
The More Honing, the Better
Only a few swipes on the steel rod are needed to properly hone a knife, any more than that can wear out the knife's tines.
Over-sharpening a knife can actually damage the edge and make it duller. It's important to sharpen a knife only when it needs it, and to sharpen it to the correct angle.
Technically speaking, it's better to hone right before using a knife than after—the reason being that if a large amount of time has elapsed between honing and use, the knife can regress some and the edge bend back out a bit. But it's no biggie.
There are several devices available to help with knife maintenance. The most common is called a Honing Steel or a Honing Rod. While this tool will not actually sharpen the knife, it will realign or hone the edge of the knife, which can fold over onto itself, creating a dull cutting surface on the blade.
We recommend using a honing steel for regular maintenance and a sharpening steel when your knife needs an edge reset. Pro Tip: Always hand wash your knife after honing or sharpening to remove any excess steel from the blade and keep your knife looking its best.
Electric pull through sharpeners remove way too much metal and shorten the life of your knife by years. Ceramic wheel sharpeners tend to take chips and chunks out of thin Japanese blades. Because of the mechanics of use, it is impossible to apply the same amount of pressure throughout the blade.
It's just some, like ceremic knives, are hard and brittle and need special equipment to sharpen them, like diamond Lapping. Ceremic blades are harder than normal honing stones, so, will not make any sharpening effort. However, pretend rubber knives are only for show and definitely cannot be sharpened.
Honing steel should last forever. As the other poster replied, get a wet stone and learn how to sharpen knives properly at least once every 3 months. As chefs we are taught that a knife should only be run over a steel 6 times, if the blade isn't sharp enough to use after that then it needs to go on the stone.
Typically, honing will remove only a small amount of material, usually less than 0.002 inches.
Drag the knife blade across the steel until the tip of the knife and the tip of the steel meet. Repeat with both sides until blade is honed—usually about 8 strokes per side.
Over-honing a knife can lead to a blade that doesn't just lack the desired sharpness but is also structurally compromised. To avoid this situation, approach sharpening with a thoughtful and restrained hand.
A honing steel is always made from steel. Makes sense. A sharpening steel, however, consists of or has a layer of an abrasive such as ceramic or diamond. The material is also the best way to tell the two apart.
Sharpening at a higher angle will tend to give you a less sharp edge, sharpening at a lower angle will greatly increase the time it takes to sharpen the knife. Maintaining a Consistent Angle - This is a fancy way of saying don't rock the edge when you sharpen.
Firstly, let's clarify that there is no such thing as a knife that never needs sharpening. Every knife loses its sharpness over time and with frequent use. However, there are knives designed to last longer without losing their sharpness compared to traditional knives.
The answer is fairly simple. Yes, old knives can be sharpened as long as they are in okay shape.
Most pros would agree that pulling the blade edge across the whetstone produces the best results. Not only will it bring the knife to its sharpest but it's also a much more effective way to remove chips and imperfections from the blade.
We recommend 6–8 pulls through the sharpener (tip up). If you need that extra degree of sharpness, polish the edge with a few strokes back and forth.
“No more teeth.” That's how best-selling cookbook author and TV personality Jacques Pépin describes a knife that needs sharpening. A dull knife is often obvious. Other than the tomato frustration we've already talked about, you'll notice that you're pushing or using more force to cut and chop.
The last step in sharpening is removing the burr – the hide side of an old leather belt will do, or buy a strop such as this one. A bit of baby oil on the leather will help you get a nice, even covering of the polishing compound. As with most things, you get what you pay for.
The two most common mistakes I see when using a knife are being distracted and not keeping your fingers clear from the blade. When you're cutting, keep your eyes focused on the knife. You will avoid accidents if you don't look away while cutting.
On Wüsthof European-Style knives, the blade edge angle has been reduced to 28 degrees (14 degrees per side), while Asian-style Santoku, Nakiri and Chai Dao knives have a blade edge angle of 20 degrees (10 degrees per side). PEtec is 20% sharper with twice the edge retention.