10" Ceramic Honing Rod - Stainless Steel Core

I have discovered the Dalstrong brand a few years back and I have bought lots of Dalstrong products since. This is my first honing rod from them though. Here is what I like about it: - Looks good. - Ceramic coating makes it usable with the Shogun serie (most of my Dalstrong knives) - Keeps my knives steel correctly honed. Here I may need to stop for a second to remind the readers that sharpening and honing are two different things. In order to sharpen a knife, one needs to shave off some of its material to get to a thin layer that cuts. Honing comes after and is primarily used to straighten the thin edge of the blade that is so thin that it can get out of line and impact negatively the process of cutting. Honing is not supposed to remove anything, though it always will to some extent, proof being in the steel coloration that honing rods end up getting. So do I recommend this honing steel? Yes I do! 5 stars.

This is a good product. It really hones and sharpens knives. Just dont let you cook use it. They tend to break it and lose the rubber head.

I wanted a really good ceramic honing rod so for me, Dalstrong was the place to go! I put it on my wish list until I could afford it, then purchased it. A ceramic is different from a steel rod, ceramic actually sharpens your knife and will remove dings if that happens to a knife accidentally, or if you feel the knife is not quite as sharp as it should be. It is NOT for daily use by any means, but when you feel you need it a bit sharper, do a few passes on this ceramic rod, and after that, do the same amount of passes on a steel rod, wipe down the knife and put it away. THIS is how you keep your knife's edge between professional sharpening, or if you do your own a couple times a year.

This is an absolutely beautiful black ceramic hone. Matches my knife perfectly

I bought this steel to replace a very old one that has the traditional tapered round steel shaft and handle with an end ring. I upgraded a knife block so that I would have more slots for knives I already own, and decided that perhaps it was also time to upgrade my steel/hone. That effort led me to this product. My biggest concern about this product was the rubber end cap, and whether it would make it impossible to store the rod in the knife block. To their credit, Dalstrong responded to a question I posted, and indicated it might not fit. I decided to buy the product anyway, in part because of the nature of the knives that I was planning on buying, and the other features of this hone. I can confirm that it does not fit into either my new or old knife block, and so it unfortunately resides in a utility drawer in my kitchen when not in use. I find that less than optimal. Other than that one "flaw", I like the product very much. The handle is comfortable to hold. The rubber cap keeps the hone stationary when you are honing your knives, although this is not a huge selling point in my eyes. In the past I used a sponge or a potholder to anchor the hone, and protect the counter or cutting board. The hone does a nice job of restoring a very sharp edge to the steel-based knives I have used it on. I own several ceramic knives, and tried to see whether the ceramic coating was hard enough to be effective in restoring the edge on a ceramic (usually zirconia) knife, and if there was any benefit it was minimal. That said, this would have been an added benefit, but was not the main reason that I bought the product. Would I buy it again? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes. Do I wish it fit into a knife block? Yes. I do think it is interesting and perhaps odd that Dalstrong ships their knives with sheaths, even though they do "fit" into a knife block, but does not provide any "protection" for the ceramic coating on this steel. It would make it less of an issue to put it into a utility drawer with other kitchen gadgets. I may just go to a hardware store and see if I can get a 10" piece of plastic tubing that will fit over the rod.

Ok so first thing I noticed is this is a very abrasive honing rod.. it will mar your blade if your not careful. I would say this is equivalent to 125 or 250 grit sandpaper. Also the quality looks good but the craftsmanship is subpar. The rod became loose after about a week in my knife bag. It didn't break just is wobbly now. Don't know how or why this happened. But a a professional chef, in a commercial environment I would say pass on this rod. For the price there are far better actual ceramic honing rods out there.

I have been using the rod about once a week for the last 3 years. The ceramic is very fine and seems to work well despite the high grit smoothness. I haven’t noticed any scratching of any sort even in my Shun Japanese knife. But the handle started getting loose about a year ago. Such that when honing the rod will wobble.

I just grabbed the package from our front door and started using this beautiful, well crafted, and balanced ceramic rod right away. I can’t believe the fast and awesome results and will keep this gentle monster next to our kitchen knives. Absolutely worth it’s price!

Used on Dalstrong damacus steel knife - great for keeping the edge.

Please give right information! It’s a very good steel but it’s not scratch free!

Oh, you will never hear me say anything wrong about these products. Dalstrong makes amazing products.

This sharpener is great, not to rough and not to smooth plus the black graphite look good even after usage, the silicone tip make it easy to hold it stable while you sharpen, I bought a ceramic one and a steel one and they dont come close to this, the handle is like the knif making it look greater

Have a few Dalstrong knives, and this honing rod is essential to keep them sharp. Does a great job.