Honing steel came slightly damaged. Should I return it or is it no big deal?

[trox]

Hello,

I purchased a Victorinox honing steel online.

It came slightly damaged in the area where the steel was exposed in the packaging.

The "ridges" are very slightly deformed (see the attached photo).

Is it serious enough to return it or does it make no difference and it's not worth the hassle of returning?

Thank you.

 

[stringer]

Hello,

I purchased a Victorinox honing steel online.

It came slightly damaged in the area where the steel was exposed in the packaging.

The "ridges" are very slightly deformed (see the attached photo).

Is it serious enough to return it or does it make no difference and it's not worth the hassle of returning?

Thank you.

View attachment 252116

If it bothers you return it. But it won't affect the usage of the steel. For what it's worth I would return it because it is not very useful. I wouldn't use a coarsely ribbed hone like this on anything but very soft steel. And even for those purposes there are far better options. These types of steels are very hard on edges. They will make knife maintenance more difficult in the short term, medium term, and long term. It will tear up the apex at a microscopic level decreasing apex strength and edge retention. Prolonged use will encourage and hasten the formation of heel spurs, profile holes, and lead to premature edge thickening.

This means that knife performance will quickly degrade and that a lot of fatigued and damaged metal will need to be removed often to restore that performance. I would suggest a smooth metal steel, a ceramic honing rod, or simply stropping your knife on a medium to fine stone or even some newspaper to be far superior options no matter what you are trying to hone.