Tom Douglas by Pinzon Wenger 12-Inch Oval Sharpening Steel
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Tom Douglas by Pinzon Wenger 12-Inch Oval Sharpening Steel
Customer Review: It passed the ultimate test: my wife noticed a difference
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
According to the documentation on this, it's not a substitute for sharpening, and is only designed to "hone" the blade in between actual sharpenings. I'm sure that's true, but then I have to conclude that keeping your blades honed is a lot more important than I would've guessed. I gave this a try the day I got it, and just gave our knifes a few passes on it. I followed the instructions, putting the blades at a roughly 30 degree angle, but I'm obviously not skilled at this. Nonetheless, the knives became so noticeably more effective that my wife asked me if I sharpened them the next time she used them. That's quite an endorsement, because she didn't know I'd done anything and thus wasn't psychologically primed to imagine some sort of improvement as people tend to be when trying something new. So, if it was enough of an effect for somebody to notice who wasn't expecting anything to be different, the steel must've done a good job.
Having not tried another steel, I can't say with any authority that this is a particularly good one relative to others. But it does seem very solid and heavy, and I've never seen a sharpening steel with the kind of flat profile this one has. Given its results, you probably can't go wrong with this one.
If there is anything negative I can say about it, it's that the handle feels cheap and "plasticy", especially for something at this price. It's a somewhat unfortunate mistake on a tool that is otherwise so solid and heavy, and in fact, all the more glaring a mistake for being so otherwise high quality.
All in all, though, I'm extremely happy with this and very glad I got it for one reason: it really works well.
Customer Review: Great Sharpening Steel, Poor Quality Protective Sheath
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is my third Tom Douglas branded product, and it is the third one where I want to say "It is great, BUT...". There always seem to be some little detail that takes a little away from the experience and prevents me from saying the product is perfect.
This sharpening steel has a nice length and weight; it fits well in my hand, although the handle looks and feels 'plastic'y, and the color of the handle is not pleasant. I was able to quickly restore edges of three KAI Wasabi knives. I believe that the form and the function of the steel are great.
What I did not like was the protective sheath. It is cheaply made and it was broken out of the box - see pictures. Even if did not arrive broken, it would break very soon given the material used. Maybe the protective sheath was not designed for use during the product's lifetime but rather just for shipping; however, it did not survive the shipping either. I was planning to use the protective sheath for the lifetime of the sharpening steel to prevent the steel from getting scuffed in the drawer, so I would prefer the protective sheath to be better crafted. I do not think that at fifty six bucks this sharpening steel is cheap, and I believe that the use of such cheap and flimsy protective sheath really takes away from the total experience.
Overall, this is a great steel, but I am taking one star off for the protective sheath.
Customer Review: Seems to do the job!
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I just received this today. Confession: I tend to be lazy about sharpening my knives. I have purchased knife sharpeners before, but they were, from what I could tell, for lazy people and didn't work very well.
This sharpening instrument takes more work. But we had a roasted chicken breast (bone-in) for dinner tonight. I used this tool to sharpen my favorite knife for this specific task beforehand. Mirabile dictu! The knife did a better job of cutting than is its norm! Thus, it appears that this sharpening tool has an upside to it.
Before any definitive word, of course, I will have to use it over time. But, I can say this--my first exercise with this was very promising. . . .