Yes, I know. Just my way of asking how many elk it was? I've read guys who can't even get through a deer without changing blades.
The guide was sharpening the blade, so i'm not sure we're talking apples to apples.
Actually the guide was not sharpening the blade. He was steeling the blade. A steel is often called a "sharpening" steel, but it is mis-named. It does not sharpen a knife. High magnification will show that during use a knife edge becomes mis-shapen, folds over, and otherwise loses its fine edge with minimal steel being worn away. The steel does not re-sharpen in the sense that it removes steel. It simply returns the edge -- "restores" or "realigns" are perhaps the best words -- to its straight, fine characteristic.
The same thing can be done on the edge of a car door window, or the edge of a stainless steel table. In fact, too many knives made from good steel are sharpened when they don't need it -- all they need is someone who knows how to work an edge with a steel. Using a steel should not be considered a method of sharpening. It is a method of finishing -- or refinishing -- a sharp edge.
Every knife user would benefit from knowing how to use a steel. Not only will his knife remain sharper for longer, the knife will last longer because less steel will be worn away in resharpening.
The fact that he used a steel is disclosed precisely so one can make an apples to apples comparison.
To your first comment about guys who can't get through a deer without dulling a knife -- you are right. It pays to know how to use a knife. Cut from the inside of the critter. Do not cut hair. Do not use the tip as a wedge. Do not run the edge against bone. Many people do not use such care, and they'll dull any knife.
Steve.
"I was a deerhunter long before I was a man." ~Gene Wensel's Come November (2000) "A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user." ~Theodore Roosevelt
