Shun Sora 9 inch Honing Steel is the best way to keep your Shun Sora knives sharp and ready to use at all times. It offers two honing surfaces: a smooth one for day-to-day honing, and a micro-ribbed one for weekly honing. Shun recommends that you run a honing steel over your knives after each use for maximum continuing sharpness. As with all Sora knives from Shun, this sharpening steel is made in Japan. The honing steel has a Shun 10-year warranty with normal use and proper care.