Whether you’re an enthusiastic home cook or a professional butcher, proper knife maintenance is essential. Regularly making time to care for your butcher's knives is key to producing quality cuts you can really be proud of – and we should know! At Butchers Equipment Warehouse, we’ve been specialising in premium butchery supplies for nearly 35 years now, and we’re proud to stock a wide range of tools expertly designed to keep your equipment in top condition. So, will sharpeners or steels work best for your knives? Let’s take a look.

Sharpening vs honing

Let’s start by breaking down each option and exploring the differences between the two. Our pro knife sharpeners come in a variety of forms, including sharpening stones and high-standard electric sharpeners. They do exactly what their title suggests: grinding and reshaping the blade. In comparison, butcher’s steels are made up of a slender, tapered rod, and, despite what many people believe, they aren’t actually meant for sharpening. Instead, they hone the blade, realigning its edge and helping to create clean cuts without shaving away any of the knife’s material. To put it simply, a steel maintains an edge; a sharpener creates it.

Choosing the right option for your knives

If your tools aren’t quite making the cut, it’s time to act. We generally recommend giving honing a chance first, moving on to sharpening if that doesn’t fix the problem. Knowing how your knives usually perform here will make all the difference, but there is a handy way to check which method you need to use to solve the problem. Take a ripe tomato and try to slice it, applying minimal pressure. If the blade catches and tears the skin, it probably needs honing. If it doesn’t pierce the skin at all, sliding off or crushing the tomato, it needs sharpening.

When using either method, it’s important to consider how often they should be used. We generally recommend daily honing for professional butchers or chefs, and weekly honing for home cooks. Sharpening frequency also depends entirely on use. As a home cook, it’s a good idea to sharpen your knives a couple of times a year. In comparison, professionals who use their tools far more intensely will naturally need to sharpen them far more often.

We also recommend bearing in mind the kind of knife you have when conducting your maintenance. For example, Japanese knives are generally made of harder steel, which typically requires less honing but more sharpening; in comparison, softer knives will benefit from frequent honing but may not need to be sharpened as regularly.

General knife maintenance tips

Routine sharpening and honing will dramatically improve your knife’s performance, but your work doesn’t necessarily stop there! With safety and customer satisfaction on the line, it’s worth spending a little extra time to make sure your tools are making the cut. Here are some simple but effective tips for keeping your knives in top form.

  • Remember: your choice of cutting board can impact the sharpness of your knives. Avoid materials like glass and stone in favour of wood or plastic.
  • Properly store your knives to avoid premature dulling and damage. Use special organisers in drawers, or consider investing in magnetic racks or rolls/cases. If you’re using a knife block, always store your knives with the blade facing upwards.
  • Make sure your knives are fully dry before storing, applying food-grade mineral oil to prevent corrosion.
  • Always consider the kind of tool you’re maintaining when choosing a sharpening angle. For example, a heavy-duty cleaver will work well up to 30 degrees, while a boning knife will better suit 20 degrees. Remember to clean knives after sharpening.

Those are the essentials covered! Whether you need equipment to keep your tools razor sharp and ready to go, or are looking to up your game with brand new butcher’s knives, we’re here to help. With leading brands available at great prices, we’ve got everything you need to start 2026 as you mean to go on, providing all the durable and dependable supplies you need under one roof. Interested? Don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01254 427761 today, and we’ll make sure you find exactly what you’re looking for.