ShunCutlery Classic 9" Combination Honing Steel, Smooth and Micro-Ribbed Honing Rod, Built-in Angle Guide, Pakkawood Handle, Japanese Knife Sharpener for Professional and Home Chefs

Having invested in quality knives, I wanted the right honing steel to keep them in prime condition between sharpening. This steel does just that - for both daily and monthly honing.

The quality of manufacturing and assembly of this steel is a shocking embarrassment for Shun.It's produced in China and is very poorly made. For example, the fit and finish of the handle and the cap at the top is poor, with these elements being very badly aligned in the manufacture/assembly process.On close observation of the steel itself, this also looks to be of poor quality with a less-than-desirable quality of finish overall considering that it's intended for use with Shun's extremely expensive and high quality Classic knives.My steel was delivered with a scratch/chip on the surface of one of the smooth sides, which of course would completely ruin a Shun blade or any other ultra-sharp knife blade, so it had to go back. Unless my particular item had previously been returned to Amazon for the same reason, I can only think again that such a defect most likely reflects the very poor quality control in the manufacturing and assembly process.In terms of features, the steel itself is round, and has two smooth surfaces and two slightly coarser surfaces running along its length, and hence provides the benefit of two different levels of honing. These are quite close together as they run down the steel, so you would have to take great care to keep a knife on the honing edge of your choosing and to avoid straying onto an adjacent edge. That said, I wouldn't consider this a disadvantage as long as you are careful, which you would be anyway if honing Shun knives, but two different surfaces on opposite sides of the steel (instead of four) would have been more practical in use.The 16 degree angle guide at the base of the handle is also helpful, and is one of the reasons I chose this steel over all others (aside from expecting a better quality product!). Although such a feature is not absolutely necessary if you've learned to hone your knives properly, it does provide some guidance to ensure that you are honing at, or very near to, the correct angle for your Shun Classic knives.But, despite its features, and compared to the exceptional quality of Shun's knives, this is a disappointingly poor-quality product overall, and I had to return mine immediately after receiving and inspecting it because of the slight but important damage on one of the honing edges.Overall this is a disappointingly poor-quality product, particularly so considering that it has a Shun label on it, and I would not recommend it unless you want it just for the badge, as there are far superior steels available elsewhere.