Buy Wusthof Culinar 9-Inch Diamond SteelWusthof Culinar 9-Inch Diamond Steel Product Description:
- Partially sharpens knives while realigning edges
- Stainless-steel rod embedded with industrial diamond dust
- Handle sculpted from 18/10 stainless steel with elegant satin finish
- 9-inch length ideal for nearly all knives
- Made in Germany
Product Description
Essential To Keep Your Knives In Top Condition. No Collection Of W_Sthof Knives Is Complete Until You'Ve Added This Essential Maintenence Tool! Regular Maintenance Of Your W_Sthof Knives Insures A Lifetime Of Cooking Pleasure. With Regular Use Any Knife'S Edge Will Lose Its "Bite". Under High Magnification, You Would See That The Cutting Edge Itself Actually Consists Of Rows Of Tiny "Teeth" Which Must Be Periodically Realigned For Optimum Cutting Performance. The Key To Using A Honing Steel Is Holding The Blade At A Consistent 20 Degree Angle As You Simulate The Motion Of The Blade "Shaving" Off The Surface Of The Honing Steel Itself. The "Tip Down" Method Shown Here Works Best As It Lets You Always See The Contact Point Of The Knife And The Steel. At Some Point, Any Quality Knife Will Require Professional Sharpening. For Warranty Information, Please Click Here.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
An Attractive, Practical Steel to Complement Beautiful Culinar Knives.
By mirasreviews
Wusthof makes 2 models of sharpening steels to match their Culinar knives. Both are 9-inch (23 cm) steels with the distinctive Culinar brushed 18/10 stainless handle. The other model (4459) has a stainless steel sharpening rod. This model (4469) has a diamond sharpening rod: Industrial diamonds are embedded in a stainless steel rod. I suppose they are ground diamonds, as the surface of the steel is slightly abrasive. Diamond steels have more sharpening effect than stainless steels and may postpone the need to re-grind your knife edge. The handle on this steel is 4 ½ inches (11.5 cm) long including the finger guard at the top of the handle. The sharpening rod is flat and oval, in contrast to the usual round shape. The rod is slightly over ½ inch (14mm) wide and 5mm thick at its thickest point. I don't find the oval shape any more difficult to use than round steels, and it requires fewer passes due to more surface contact with the knife edge. The rod is the same matte silver color as the Culinar handles. This Diamond Sharpening Steel isn't cheap, but it's a sturdy, attractive, accessory for the beautiful Culinar knives.It is recommended that cooks steel their knives every time they are used. Steeling realigns the tiny teeth on your knife edge that go askew from normal use, dulling the blade somewhat. So steeling does sharpen the blade in the sense that it cleans up the edge, but it does not grind the blade. Knife blades must be re-ground every 6 months to 2 years, depending on the material of the blade and how often you use it. Chefs typically regrind their blades once a year using either a sharpening stone, a manual knife sharpener, or an electric sharpener. You can also have knives professionally sharpened if you're not in the possession of a sharpener or not confident in your skills. To steel the blade, hold the sharpening steel in one hand and the knife in the other. Place the blade at a 20-25 degree angle to the steel. And draw the blade across the steel in an arching motion, starting at the base of the blade, applying light, even pressure. (Well, that's difficult to picture, but most knife packages and many web sites have illustrations.) Steel the knife 6-8 times (or fewer if the rod is oval). Don't steel the same side more than once in succession. If angle is much less than 20 degrees, it will scratch your knife and won't steel properly. Not a big deal, but try to avoid it.
20 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
Good Steel, Check Price
By D
There are really two main competitors in the high-end mainstream kitchen knife market: Henckels and Wusthof. Those who have used both usually have a preference. My preference (and therefore bias you should know about) is for the Wusthofs.
The Wusthof Culinar line is an all stainless steel look, rather than a black handle. Although the picture and some descriptions want you to think this is a single piece knife, be advised that the hand is a separate piece of stainless steel molded onto the tang. I personally prefer the handle of the Grand Prix and Classic, because the grip is surer for me, but this is, to some extent, a matter of personal preference. This series "looks" more professional to some (like a Viking stove).
However, when it comes to sharpening steels, I have found very little difference. As long as you buy a high end steel, you really won't go wrong. Therefore, I shop for this item on price, and Henckels has a price advantage. Unless you want a matching set, shop on price, and look to Henckels.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.Diamonds and Culinars
By Warren J. Dew
When one speaks of "sharpening" a knife, one may be referring to either of two things.One may be referring to what is also called "honing", which is intended to realign the edge of the knife, maintaining the sharpness without removing metal. Typically this is done with a rod of somewhat harder steel - sometimes called a sharpening steel or iron. Many chefs hone their knives on every use.Alternatively, one may be referring to actually grinding away a minute amount of the surface of the edge of the knife, restoring its sharpness when honing no longer does the trick. A "sharpening stone" made of alumina - sapphire grit - is normally used for this. This type of sharpening normally only needs to be done at long intervals - months or years, depending on use.The Wusthof Culinar diamond sharpener seems to act more like a sharpening stone than like a normal sharpening steel - not surprising, since its diamond grit is even harder than the alumina used in sharpening stones. The difference is far more than the mere difference in looks that one of the other reviewers suggests.Why did Wusthof decide to provide what is essentially a premium sharpening stone in the shape of a sharpening steel? I think it goes back to their original Culinar knives. Those original Culinar knives had a different blade composition than most Wusthof knives: the alloy included tungsten in addition to Wusthof's normal chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium. I have a few of these older Culinar knives, and the tungsten in their blades allows them to hold an even sharper edge, and keep that edge through a longer period of use. However, the added hardness of the tungsten blade alloy makes honing those knives less effective, so they need to be actually sharpened more often. This diamond sharpener makes that convenient to do.The more recent Culinar knives I have purchased no longer have tungsten in their blade alloys. Perhaps Wusthof got complaints about the eventual dulling of the tungsten alloy blades from people who did not realize they also needed the diamond sharpener. On the other hand, having a diamond sharpener in the shape of a normal steel was evidently sufficiently convenient that Wusthof not only kept the diamond sharpener in their Culinar lineup, but also make a started making a black handled version that matches their other lines of knives.
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