Abstract:
An apparatus for maintaining culinary knifes, the apparatus having a handle assembly formed of a handle portion and a knife guide. An elongated tubular burnishing member is connected to the bottom end of the knife guide portion. A rubber friction tip is inserted into the bottom end of the tubular burnishing member. An elongated honing member is also coupled to the bottom end of the handle assembly and mounted in the interior of the tubular burnishing member. The burnishing member therefore performs a second function, that of being a protective sheath for the honing member.

Description:
RELATION TO CORRESPONDING APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/255,476 filed Feb. 23, 1999 and now issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,262. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a combination device having both burnishing and honing elements and more specifically to a hand held “steel” device having a knife guide structure which establishes the required angle at which the blade of a culinary knife is to be burnished and/or honed. 
     2. Background Art 
     The conventional “steel” came to the United States in the 19th century. The manufacturer was I. Wilson Company from Sheffield, England. The F. Dick Company began exporting “steels” to the United States from Germany about a century ago and is the most respected maker today. 
     An example of a conventional “steel”, such as existed for more than one hundred years is illustrated in the Lucas U.S. Pat. No. 678,301 that issued in 1901. Only minor improvements were made to the “steel” in the next twenty years. The Hawks U.S. Pat. No. 1,158,048 issued in 1915 and taught the use of a threaded rod to attach the handle to the “steel”. In 1920 a U.S. Pat. No. 1,352,888 issued to Gallagher for a “steel” having abrasive material bonded in longitudinally extending grooves on the outer surface of the hone. Almost twenty-five years later the Miller U.S. Pat. No. 2,380,539 issued in 1945 showing a different “steel” structure with abrasive material bonded in grooves of an elongated member having a cross section like a plus (+) sign. None of these attempts to improve the basic chef&#39;s “steel” have changed the configuration of the traditional tool which is more than 100 years old. 
     In order to keep a chef&#39;s premium knife in slicing and carving condition, the edge of its blade should be burnished (rubbed and straightened) with a few strokes on a chef&#39;s “steel” before each use and several times during extended use. The proper technique of using the traditional “steel” is difficult and requires practice. It is difficult to orient the burnishing and/or honing device at the correct angle to the centerline of the knife while drawing the cutting edge across and down the length of the “steel”. 22.5 degrees is the approximate half angle of the bottom edge or cutting edge of the knife blade. Culinary knives periodically require professional sharpening and reshaping by grinding to restore the cutting edge to the condition as manufactured. Home kitchen knives may require professional sharpening every one to five years. Restaurant knives require professional sharpening monthly. The convention for user maintenance of the cutting edge between professional sharpening is burnishing with a “steel”. The chef&#39;s “steel” is a device with an elongated narrow rod of steel and a concentric handle at the top end with a symbolic guard between the handle and the burnishing rod to provide some protection so that users do not accidentally cut themselves with the knife during the “steeling” process. The guard is small (probably for storage reasons) and does not overcome the fear in a person drawing an intimidating kitchen knife towards one&#39;s wrist. 
     The chef&#39;s “steel” has been used primarily with the cutting edge moving towards the user&#39;s hand. 
     The inventor&#39;s novel “steel” is designed to be used with the cutting edge moving away from the user&#39;s hand which holds the “steel”. 
     A quality culinary knife has a very fine cutting edge which curls. It curls when you cut with it and it curls when moisture is introduced. It curls at random on the left or the right side of the blade. The chef&#39;s “steel” is used to restore the straightness of the cutting edge by rubbing or burnishing at the same or slightly greater angle as the cutting edge. Five to seven strokes on each side was commonly recommended to straighten the edge due to the user&#39;s inability to align the cutting edge at the proper angle to the “steel”. 
     To burnish high carbon steel knives with this “chef&#39;s steel”, one of the cutting edges of the knife is drawn over one edge of the “chef&#39;s steel” at approximately a 22.5 degree angle on one side and then the other edge of the blade is drawn over the other side of the “chefs steel” at approximately a 22.5 degree angle. No means other than that which the operator conceives to be a 22.5 degree angle was provided. Therefore, the effectiveness of the burnishing and straightening process was inconsistent. A chef would not allow an apprentice to sharpen his knives because it would affect the efficiency of the knives if “steeled” at an angle other than the correct 22.5 degree angle. 
     To overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, sharpeners such as that of the Graves U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,677 were designed in 1976 with guide-guards attached to the opposite ends of an elongated cylindrical sharpening rod made of material. A handle extends outwardly from one of the guide-guards. This blade sharpener has been designed to be used in a horizontal manner. 
     Another “chefs steel” is disclosed in the Harris U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,106. This honing device was designed in 1976 to be used in a vertical position and it has a conical blade guide adjacent the top end of the “steel” to establish an appropriate angle at which to hold the knife blade for sharpening. The palm of the hand holding the honing device is oriented in the manner of a handshake. 
     The prior art sharpening “steels” still have problems that annoy their users. The horizontal sharpener of Graves has not been well received. The “chef&#39;s steel” when used in a vertical position requires the use of a handshake grip which obstructs vision and crowds the heel of the hand when burnishing wider blades. The bottom end of the “steel” has a tendency to slip or shoot outwardly at times during use. The great majority of the prior art chef&#39;s “steels” which reach the marketplace are quite heavy because they are made of solid steel. No meaningful improvements in the “chef&#39;s steel” have been made in the last twenty plus years. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a novel combination culinary knife maintenance and sharpening “steel” that has both burnishing and honing structures in the same tool. 
     It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel “steel” that has a handle assembly that encourages its user to cup the palm of his hand over the top of this handle and which discourages the conventional handshake grip. 
     It is another object of the invention to utilize a burnishing stroke which has the cutting edge of the knife moving away from the user&#39;s hand. The conventional method has the cutting edge moving toward the user&#39;s hand. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel “steel” that has the burnishing element made of aluminum tubing that is hard anodized. 
     It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel “steel” that has structure on the bottom end that prevents it from slipping or shooting outwardly during its use. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a novel “steel” whose weight is approximately half that of the prior art sharpening “steels”. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a novel “steel” made of several parts that are easily assembled. 
     It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel “steel” that has an outer surface that is sufficiently hard to burnish or rub and straighten high carbon stainless steel knife blades. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The novel “steel” for culinary knives is extremely lightweight due to the use in a preferred embodiment of tubular stock such as aluminum whose outer surface has been hard anodized. The surface has a hardness equal to Rockwell C Scale 60 to 70. It is best measured by the Taber Abrasion Test per MIL-A-8625 F (or later) type Ill. The process for anodizing the tubular aluminum member results in a cross section showing that the anodizing process penetrates half its thickness into the aluminum and also grows outwardly an equal amount. The wall thickness of the tubular member would be in the range of 0.010-0.125 inches. 
     The Culinary Institute of America teaches several methods of “steeling” culinary knives. All methods show a “handshake” grip for the hand holding the “steel” and suggest five strokes on each side of the cutting edge. The novel “steel” requires only two strokes on each side of the cutting edge because each stroke is accurate. 
     Some features of the inventor&#39;s maintenance and sharpening “steel” that significantly assist the person using it include the novel handle assembly which allows the user to utilize a palm grip which positions the wrist and hand out of the way so that the user can see the process unimpeded. It is a natural grip and the user can relax. Holding the “steel” securely does not require any force other than the weight of the user&#39;s hand. The sharp cutting edge of the knife is moving away from the user&#39;s hand. These features contribute to both perceived and actual safety and ease of use. This results in greater compliance with knife maintenance quality and frequency. 
     The angle guide starts the burnishing or honing process at the correct angle to the burnishing or honing surface. 
     The friction tip on the bottom end of the novel “steel” prevents it from slipping or sliding outwardly during use. The use of a hollow burnishing member made of aluminum, or other selected materials, significantly reduces the weight of this member. Some examples of other tubular burnishing members would be 1) hardened steel tube, 2) surface hardened steel tube, 3) nickel coated steel tube with supplemental treatment for hardness, 4) titanium tube with hard anodized coating, 5) chromium coated tube; and 6) titanium nitride tube. The cross section of the tube may be various shapes such as round, oval, or a polygon. 
     The surface of hard anodized aluminum is harder than steel. With the novel burnishing device, two strokes on each side will correct the straightness of the cutting edge of the knife due to the fact that if the user orients the knife blade at the proper angle to the “steel” by placing the blade on the angle guide at the beginning of each stoke, each stroke will be accurate and effective. 
     An alternative embodiment of the novel “steel” provides a structure for honing the cutting edge of a culinary knife. The burnishing structure is the tubular member connected to the bottom end of the handle structure. More specifically, the hard outer surface is used primarily for straightening the cutting edge of the culinary knife. It straightens a curled cutting edge, microscopic curves, bends, bumps, etc. caused by normal use and also exposure to water and moisture. It is not the purpose of the burnishing surface to sharpen (i.e., remove material from the cutting edge of the knife). The structure for honing or sharpening the cutting edge of a culinary knife is an elongated hard abrasive member that may be in the form of a rod or a tube. The burnishing member has its top end removably secured to the bottom end of the handle structure. The burnishing member has the dual function of burnishing and providing a housing or sheath for the honing member. The honing member is hard and may be brittle so it is appropriate to protect it. The honing member may be permanently attached to the handle structure. The handle structure for the alternative embodiment comes in various forms. The cross section of the honing member may be various shapes such as round, oval, or a polygon. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The aforementioned objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will be more fully understood hereinafter as a result of a detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which: 
     FIGS. 1 a  through  1   c  are front perspective views illustrating the manner in which the novel “steel” is used; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial vertical cross sectional view of the bottom edge of a high carbon steel culinary knife; 
     FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the novel “steel”; 
     FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross section of the “steel” illustrated in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the combination handle and knife guide illustrated in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the combination handle and knife guide member; 
     FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross section view of a first alternative embodiment of the combination handle and knife guide member; 
     FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross section view of a second alternative embodiment of the combination handle and knife guide member; 
     FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross section view of a third alternative embodiment of the combination handle and knife guide structure; 
     FIG. 10 is a front perspective view of a first alternative embodiment of the novel “steel”; 
     FIG. 11 is an exploded front perspective view of the first alternative embodiment of the novel “steel” illustrated in FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the first alternative embodiment of the novel “steel” illustrated in FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 13 is a side elevation view of the first alternative embodiment of the novel “steel” illustrated in FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 14 is a side elevation view of the tubular member of the first alternative embodiment of the novel “steel”; 
     FIG. 15 is a cross section taken along lines  15 — 15  of FIG. 12; 
     FIG. 16 is a cross section taken along lines  16 — 16  of FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 17 is a cross section taken along lines  17 — 17  of FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 18 is a cross section taken along lines  18 — 18  of FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 19 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a second alternative embodiment of the novel “steel”; and 
     FIGS. 20 through 27 provide various views of alternative knife guide configurations. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The novel “steel” for culinary knives will now be described by referring to FIGS. 1-5 of the drawings. The “steel” is generally designated numeral  10 . 
     A person using the “steel” places a hand  12  with the palm resting on the top of knob portion  20  of handle assembly  18 . The bottom end of burnishing device  10  is rested on a horizontal surface (not shown). The person&#39;s other hand  14  holds handle  15  of knife  16 . Knife  16  has a blade  17  having a bottom cutting edge or tip  19 . Blade  17  is normally made of high carbon stainless steel. The bottom cutting edge or tip  19  has an all inclusive angle of approximately 45 degrees, with 22.5 degrees on each side of its vertical X-axis (see FIG.  2 ). 
     In the preferred embodiment, tubular burnishing member  26  is made of aluminum having a hard anodized outer surface which Rockwell C Scale hardness is in the 60 to 70 range. Tubular burnishing member  26  has a diameter W 1  in the range of 0.375-1.25 inches. Tubular burnishing member  26  has a height H 3  in the range of 7-13 inches. It has a wall thickness T 1  in the range of 0.010-0.125 inches. The wall thickness is in the range of 2%-10% of the diameter of tubular burnishing member  26  (see FIG.  2  and FIG.  3 ). 
     The structure of the “steel” is best understood by referring to FIGS. 4 and 5. The “steel” is generally designated numeral  10 . It has a combination handle and knife guide member  18  having a handle portion  20  and a knife guide portion  24 . An elongated hole  34  extends into the bottom end of member  18  and it has a predetermined diameter that frictionally engages the honing member  40  which outer diameter is slightly larger. A counterbore hole  42  is formed adjacent the bottom end of knife guide portion  24  to form an annular recess for receiving tubular burnishing member  26 . A resilient rubber friction tip  32  closes the bottom end of tubular burnishing member  26 . The bottom end of honing member  40  has a resilient friction tip  30  in the form of a cap which fits on the end of the honing member  40 . 
     A first alternative embodiment of the combination handle and knife guide is illustrated in FIG.  6  and is generally designated number  50 . It has a handle portion  52  and a knife guide portion  54 . It has a hole  56  having various portions  58 - 61 . Portion  59  has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of honing member  40 . Portion  58  has a tapered diameter that runs from the edge of portion  59  to hole  56 . The largest diameter of portion  58  is slightly larger than that of the diameter of honing member  40 . As honing member  40  is inserted through portion  59 , it enters portion  58  and with axial force it will wedge itself into a rigid connection in portion  58 . Portion  61  has a cylindrical inner diameter only slightly larger than the outer diameter of tubular burnishing member  26 . Portion  60  has a tapered diameter that grows smaller as it travels from portion  61  toward portion  59 . Tubular burnishing member  26  is inserted into portion  61  rather smoothly and upon reaching portion  60  is given a twisting motion and further axial motion which will adequately retain it in portion  60 . Tubular burnishing member  26  is held sufficiently tightly so that when the “steel” is being used to burnish the cutting edge of a culinary knife, the tubular burnishing member will be held so as not to be dislocated. Additionally, the “steel” is used in a vertical manner thus having its resilient tip  32  pressed against the support surface which holds the assembly together. Handle portion  20  has a height H 2  in the range of 3-6 inches and a width W 4  in the range of 1.5-3.5 inches at its top end and width W 5  in the range of 0.5-1.5 inches at its bottom end. Knife guide portion  54  has a width W 6  in the range of 0.5-3.0 inches at its top end and a width W 7  in the range of 0.2-1.3 inches at its bottom end. 
     A second alternative embodiment of the combination handle and knife guide member is illustrated in FIG.  7 . It is generally designated number  70  and it has a handle portion  72  and an knife guide portion  74 . It has the same structure as that illustrated in FIG. 6 for receiving the honing member  40  and the tubular burnishing member  26 . An annular cavity  76  is formed when member  70  is molded and it would have an annular centering shoulder  77  and an annular locking shoulder  78 . A conical piece of sheet metal, such as stainless steel material  79  can be snapped into place between the two respective locking shoulders  77  and  78  by squeezing the bottom end of the knife guide portion  74  into a smaller diameter than the bottom diameter of the conical piece  79 . Conical piece  79  could also be glued or welded in place. 
     The third alternative embodiment of the combination handle and knife guide member is designated numeral  80  and is illustrated in FIG.  8 . It has a handle portion  81  and a knife guide portion  82 . It&#39;s hole structure is the same as that illustrate in FIG.  6 . Before the molding operation a truncated bored conical insert  110  is placed in the mold for bulk fill to reduce shrinkage and/or control surface characteristics such as uniformity, color, design patter and smoothness. 
     A fourth alternative embodiment of the combination handle and knife guide is illustrated in FIG.  9 . It is generally designated numeral  84  and it has a separately molded handle portion  85  and a separately molded knife guide portion  86 . Handle portion  85  has been molded with a hollow interior cavity  87  that is closed by a hollow interior cover  88 . The bottom end of handle portion  85  has a neck  89  that fits within a hole in cover  92 . Neck  89  has a hole  93  whose purpose will be described later. Knife guide portion  86  has a hole  94  that receives a coupling  96  that is locked therein. Coupling  96  has a hole  97  that receives honing member  40 . A recess  98  is formed between the outer surface of coupling  96  and hole  94  and it removably receives the top end of tubular burnishing member  26  in the manner previously described. The entire assembly may be bonded or welded together. 
     A first alternative embodiment of the novel “steel” is illustrated in FIGS. 10-18. The device is generally designated numeral  100 . It has a combination handle and knife guide member  102 , a tubular burnishing member  104  and a resilient friction tip  106 . Tubular burnishing member  104  has about half of its outer surface cut away for the better part of its length to expose the honing/sharpening member  108 . This allows “steel” to be used both as a burnishing tool and a sharpening tool without the necessity of removing the tubular burnishing member. The combination handle and knife guide member  102  is formed from the knife guide portion  110 , the handle portion  112  and cover member  114 . 
     The tubular burnishing element  104  may be fabricated by rolling or otherwise forming the tubular shape from sheet material resulting in a circumferential gap in the range of closed to open 70 percent of the circumference as illustrated in FIGS. 11,  12 , and  16  through  18 . This method produces a uniform wall thickness and a lower manufacturing cost than seamless tubing and a radial spring characteristic which enables the removable and rotatable feature. 
     The tubular burnishing element can be made from seamed, seamless or welded tubing as seen in FIGS. 3 through 5. 
     A second alternative embodiment of the novel “steel” is illustrated in FIG.  19 . The device is generally designated numeral  120 . It has a handle  122  having a hole  123  in its bottom end. The tubular burnishing member  124  is made of the same material as that of the previous embodiments. It also functions in a like manner. 
     FIGS. 20 through 27 illustrate three different alternative embodiments of a knife guide. One such embodiment shown in FIGS. 20 and 21. Specifically, in a knife maintenance device  130  comprising a burnishing surface  134  and a handle structure  132 , a knife guide  133  has a plurality of planar guide surfaces  135 . Planar guide surfaces provide a more stable guide than a conical guide surface because the knife blade is initially supported by a surface and not just a line of intersection. In the knife guide embodiments of FIGS. 22 through 24 and FIGS. 25 through 27, respective devices  140  and  150 , have burnishing surfaces  144  and  154  and handle structures  142  and  152 , respectively. Respective guides  143  and  153 , provide two different guide surfaces. Specifically, guide  143  of FIGS. 22 through 24, provides surfaces  145  at one selected guide angle and surfaces  147  at a different selected guide angle. Similarly, guide  153  of FIGS. 25 through 27, provides surfaces  155  at one selected guide angle and surfaces  157  at a different selected guide angle. It will be understood that many other multiple surface guide angle configurations are possible.