Tell me more about "smooth steel" sharpening?
As Turkey says, you don't really sharpen with it, it just extends the time between sharpenings. A ceramic hone can be used as a final step to deburr an edge but I don't do that, at least with kitchen knives. The reason? If I'm coming off a 15,000 grit synthetic waterstone, why would I want to drop down to a 2,000 grit hone? It will basically take all that hard work of polishing right off the edge. Sort of like getting out of the shower and drying off with a muddy towel!
The glass hone does help extend the edge, though. Once you've used the knife long enough to noticeably dull it, the smooth hone (be it glass or steel) will help realign the steel at the edge, restoring the ability to cut. Obviously, this can only be done for so long before the edge has been physically abraded away and there's nothing left to realign. That knife must then be resharped by whatever method you prefer.
