I note this thread has slowed somewhat.

I just use custom steels made by Jim Leetham to keep my knives sharp, I used the 14" for years when shooting for a living and I use the smaller 8" steel for hunting...two weeks ago we dropped in to Deniliquin and my daughter purchased a 12" steel from Jim, it cost her $420 and she is very pleased with it as it will last her a lifetime.


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Wood handled 12" belongs to my lass.


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A feature of Jim's steels is that they are easy to pull apart and clean...the 14" oval F Dick is an immediate post war "made in US zone".

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Of interest is that the steels are able to not just take metal off, they also work on relatively tough steels like the lovely wee Behring, this is mostly due to the high speed cutting tool coatings that Jim has applied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).


Note that the steel shape is a slightly modified "Pipe Steel".


These are my opinions, feel free to disagree.