Message: 3
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 09:34:10 -0700
From: Brent Beach wrote: "...Forming a bevel by pushing the metal around - using
a knife steel -
affects the crystal structure about the same as stretching the metal to 
20 times its heat treated length. It can be work hardened but its 
durability is compromised."

That accords well with the descriptions of how a polished steel is used: just a
few strokes at a time, but very frequently. The freqent steeling means that low
durability of the edge is not a concern.

Many years ago I had an epiphany when I realized, rightly or wrongly, that
butchers used steels instead of strops for maintenance of the edge during work,
because the state of an absorbant leather strop would be indescribably foul
after a day or two of exposure to blood, fat, and random body fluids. The steel
requires more skill to use properly, it seems, since it doesn't conform slightly
to the edge, and you have to hold the angle exactly right; but the decreased
"yuck" factor makes the steel worth the extra trouble. Dunno if I am right in
this, I've never had any occasion to need a steel, but it makes sense to me.

Tom Conroy