With each use of your knife, the razor sharp edge naturally bends over just a tiny bit. The edge is still sharp, but the sharpest part isn’t making contact with the food. The answer is honing with the shun kanso combination honing steel. It gently realigns the edge of the blade, prolonging the knife's sharpness. This Kanso 9 in. Steel Honing Steel has two surfaces a smooth one for day to day honing, and a micro ribbed one for weekly honing. While fine European knives can require honing after each use, shun's harder steel means you can done just once a week or so, depending on your level of use. To make honing to the correct 16° shun angle easier, this Kanso 9 in. Steel Honing Steel has a built in 16° angle on the handle. The steel handle provides a secure grip and matches the look of the rest of the shun kanso line.