The alternative for a sharpening steel?

[EOU]

We're not shocked at all Me2. You used the spine of a knife and we used a Sharp Pad. For thirteen months we tracked a santoku knife that was used, at least, daily in the kitchen. The edge was straightened frequently and showed little loss of edge sharpness after straightening. After thirteen months the edge sharpness simply fell off a cliff. We assume because the edge had rolled and been straightened so many times that it finally just broke off.