I found that my knives were needed to be sharpened all the time because they were too dull to use, so I looked up how to keep them sharper longer. It turns out that if you use a honing steel, the blade of the knife will stay sharper longer. One thing that I needed to learn to use this correctly is that the blade has to be held at a specific angle and this honing steel makes it easy because the handle sides are the angles that you need.
I misplaced the steel in my block... (actually it became a bbq coal poker :(() so I needed to find a replacement. This was a great deal and by the time it arrived, it was much needed. I could not believe how much difference my normal honing made until it was missing in my routine. I started using it again faithfully and it has made all the difference in the edges of my blades. If you don't hone regularly and properly, you are just wasting the benefits of good kitchen knives.
No matter how much you spend on knives, you have to work a little to keep them sharp. This is a great steel for doing just that. It's a pretty simple process; with a little practice, anyone can master it.
Never thought I'd be able to master using sharpening Steel, but this 9" is so easy to use. I just followed the directions and my knife was perfectly sharp.