#SharpeningSteel October 24

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In October 2025, many of us will be taking part in the 30-Day Kitchen Coach4aday Challenge. Each day we will spotlight an appliance, utensil, or gadget found in a commercial or residential kitchen. The tools and devices used to prepare and cook food is quite extensive and this month we will take a look at both the sublime and ridiculous. My post today is focused on SHARPENING STEEL or Honing Rod.

What I enjoy about these 30-Day Challenges is that they often reveal when my way of doing something has been off all along. Today’s lesson: the proper way to use a sharpening steel—or honing rod—to keep your knives in top cutting shape. Sharpening steel or the honing rod is one way to sharpen a knife and it is what we have in our kitchen.

Kitchen-30 Day Challenge Guidelines

As with previous challenges, participants are encouraged to adapt the guidelines to fit their own circumstances. If you can, commit to sharing something about an appliance, utensil, or gadget found in a Kitchen during the month of October

1. Record something about an item found in a Kitchen. Make sure you include a description and its purpose. Try, if possible, to include a photo.
2. Share with a challenge partner if you have one.
3. Join the conversation by posting on social media with the hashtag #Coach4adayChallenge

October 24th-Sharening Steel Tool-Honing Rod

Up until today I thought the correct way to use this tool was to hold it slightly above your waist and press the knife against the rod at 45-degree angle. Wrong!

To use a honing rod correctly, hold the rod vertically with the tip resting on a stable surface and draw the knife down and across the rod at about a 15–20° angle on each side. Repeat this motion several times per side using light, even strokes to realign the blade’s edge rather than remove metal.

Here is a video to help you do it correctly