Michael Blair wrote:
> I got my first French chef's knife 40 years ago, and nothing
> but a steel has touched the edge since.  I cook a lot, and I've probably
> used it three times a week (I have two others) since then.

I think this implies that normal knife wear is a process of deformation,
not abrasion, and that the use of a steel reverses the deformation.

Interesting, if it could be proved.

Anyone know anything about the action of a steel
beyond Leonard Lee's photomicrographs?

  BugBear