— Claire Gardiner

When it comes to the best of anything, um, there usually isn't, uh, a best, um, of something that applies to everybody. Uh, we'll need to find a method that's gonna be best for you specifically. And so let's talk about this a little bit. Um, a a honing steel is used for maintenance, uh, and we should use it, uh, fundamentally on a daily basis. And, and for most people, most of the time, once a day is quite fine. Um, but at some point with continued use, your knife will become dull, and the, the steel, uh, will be ineffective, okay? And we need to actually sharpen the blade and restore the cutting edge. Uh, and so this is where, um, some sort of sharpening technology comes in. And on one hand, um, you know, we have wet stones. And wet stones are fantastic. And arguably, uh, you know, in among all the options out there, the, the wet stone or a combination of wet stones can provide the best results. But, uh, the learning curve on the wet stone, uh, takes a lot of practice to, to climb and then also, uh, practice to maintain your skills. Um, and, uh, for folks that will be doing that with some frequency, that might be a good way to go. Okay? There's a, you know, it, it's, it's time consuming and it, it, uh, it takes some setup and some cleanup and, you know, certain, uh, tools and equipment are necessary. So it's a, it's a whole nother thing on its own, and I certainly recommend it, um, if that's what, uh, you know, you want to take on. But on the other hand, if you want a simpler solution, uh, then this is where, uh, either a manual, right, or an electric sharpener, uh, that, you know, has these discs, um, where you run your blade through them, uh, would come into play. And, uh, you know, those, um, uh, can certainly sharpen a blade, and it's better than using a dull knife. Um, and, uh, but again, you know, as I mentioned, the wetstone will provide the best results once you understand how to use a wetstone. Um, but again, if you don't have the tolerance for that, then consider one of these other technologies, um, which can give you results, um, that will yield a knife that is quite functional, uh, on a daily basis, uh, at which point you would go back to the steel, right? For, for daily maintenance. Okay? Um, so it's gonna be up to you, Claire, to kind of think about and maybe even try out, uh, you know, these different methods to, to determine what is best for you. Okay?