Knife Sharpener Reviews

Make sure to read what Amazon's editorial reviewer says. Most people think that "sharpening" steels sharpen. They don't. They hone or straighten the edge. For a dull blade, you need a good diamond-impregnated steel. After I got one of the latter, I hardly ever use the Henckels steel. Henckels knives have a pretty hard edge which, in my experience, tends to dull more than bending. The Henckels honing steel will sharpen the knife, but only slightly, and the ridges in the steel will quickly wear out if you use it for this purpose.

I cook for a livin' and I have many honing steels, some at 14" for my big knives and this one for my 8" and under knives. I got this one in an upscale set of 4 starz and I do love it. As previously reviewed, it's not for sharpening but used to maintain a sharp edge. If you use this PROPERLY every time you use a new knife then the factory edge will last for months if not years under normal usage.
If you are collecting the 4 star line then this is a must, it is one of the most attractive steels made, the Rockwell rating is harder than any factory production blade made, the grooving is crisp and it is a bargain compared to other brands. A must replacement for a lesser steel in most 4 star sets.
It would be worth your time and money to buy the knife care video and learn how to use this well...an investment for your future enjoyment of Henckels 4 star knives.

We hand out 5 mojo*z for this steel Magnolia!!!

works great...and best thing, it was FREE cuz I signed up w/ AT&T online bill pay... ;-)

I live in an apartment with a tiny, galley-style kitchen. I have next to NO counter space. I was fed up with having the small piece of counter next to my stove filled up with a spice rack AND a knife rack AND a utensils jar.

I found the Henckel's magnabar here on amazon and gave it a try. Now I am not your Miss Fix-It type so maybe others would not have this problem, but I found it awkward to mount this thing on the wall next to my stove. The end caps of the bar, which you use to set the screws in, and the top and bottom edging of the bar are plastic and rather flimsy. By the time I got the bar up and stable, one edge of the magnabar had bent/come loose. After sinking the screws into my wall, I didn't want to stop and return it, so I just put the "bad side" back toward the corner where it won't be as noticeable.

I do really enjoy having more counter space and all the knives lined up on the bar looks great, but I have to admit I expected a higher quality product from Henckels.

.to wish you had a better way of keeping your kitchen scalpels organized.

Seriously, I thought this bar would be just the thing to help me organize my too-small kitchen which is always strewn with knives, bottle openers, spatulae, whisks, and other kitchen implements. I also wanted something to keep my sharp knives away from my hands so that I could reach for things on the counter without worrying about stabbing myself.

This magnetic strip fits the bill perfectly. I was worried at first that it wouldn't be a strong enough magnet to hold my chef's knife, but it is. The knife is held very securely and forms a tight magnetic "seal" that breaks when you twist the knife away from it. If you bump the knife, it just rotates on the magnet - you'd have to be a real klutz to whack it hard enough to knock it off by accident. ...

I was also worried that the metal magnet would nick my knife edges. That's not a problem as long as you're careful how you put the knife on (back edge first).

I recommend this product without any reservations!

This steel actually works very well out of the box. The trouble is as stated above, the diamond dusting wears off in no time at all. I used this for two weeks at my job on high volume carving stations w/2 Henckels 5-star 10" Granton Roast Slicers, & at the end of two weeks the dusting was completely gone on both sides. If you were to use this at home it would of course last much longer, but still not nearly as long as the Henckels Pro-S 12" steel I replaced it with. My advice is to avoid diamond empregnated steels all together & opt for a high quality traditional steel like the Henckels 12" Pro-S.