sharpening knives?

[roberta]

How do I sharpen my knives? I have a nice set of Henckels 4 star knives that are getting pretty dull. I have a sharpening steel, but don't know how to use it properly. I know that if you sharpen knives improperly, they can be ruined. Any tips or descriptions?

[tlew12778]

IIRC, the only way to actually sharpen knives is with a wetstone. I think the sharpening steel straightens a blade which makes it appear sharper. Anyway, these are the wusthof instructions (http://www.wusthof.com/en/product-knowledge.asp). I do it this way but I actually hold the steel downwards against the counter so that I am more precise with the angle.

[silvergrey]

I take mine to a local kitchen shop that sharpens them for about $2 per knife. I've heard (probably here on CC) that some hardware stores do it too.