I'd never had any idea of how to use one of these, so I watched a video. Now I don't have a dull knife in the house, from paring knife to machete. We'd always had a Zwilling knife and steel in the house as far as I remember. Mine didn't get the tag with the twins.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Beautiful steel. Made in Germany. 12 inches long is a generous length. Lovely and works superbly to hone my knives!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Brings a razor sharp edge in just a couple of strokes

This 12 inch rod, is perfect for honing and easily removes niches and scratches on the blade. The oval design, allows for greater surface area, achieving excellent results with far fewer strokes. This is a must for anyone serious about keeping their knives sharp and ready to use. Haven't had to have my knives sharpened in almost a year, since learning how to properly use this steel. Worth the effort, and plenty of on line tutorial videos available.

We just replaced a honing steel that we had had for 25 plus years and was worn smooth...happy with this one