Serenpidity wrote:

I wanted an actual sharpening steel.

I hate to tell you this, but the "sharpening steel" is not a sharpening
steel. This is a very common misconception. The "steel", or ceramic, is
for aligning the blade before use, which makes it cut better. It
doesn't sharpen the knife at all. You need a sharpening stone or knife
sharpener to do that. Check the instructions that came with the knives
to see that they say.
After 35 years of sharpening my knives periodically on a stone (It's
much thinner in the middle that at the ends after 35 years), I bought a
Wusthof ceramic knife sharpener (not like a steel) for $20. I'm still
not sure if I'm getting as good an edge as I got with my stone, but it
is much quicker. Seconds instead if minutes to sharpen my Wustof
knives. Maybe as I get better with the Wusthof sharpener, the knives
will get shaper. If not, I'll have to go back to the steel.
Just wanted to warn you that I've heard people getting frustrated many
times, here and other places, about "sharpening" their knives with a
"steel" or "ceramic steel".