....and then literally today I was glad to have that old Wusthof steel.
my wife (French Canadian) has a family recipe for the best apple pie I've ever had. Sour cream for the apple mixture and a brown sugar/butter crumble on top. Amazing. Anyway, I peeled the apples for her using the paring knife which does NOT get heavy sharpening; it's a "sharp enough" knife that gets a little abused + handled by less careful folks so I keep more of a cleaver edge than something I impress my friends with by shaving my arm hairs. Anyway, some good careful strokes on the steel brought it in line for peeling those apples and I was glad for the slightly more aggressive ridges. Although, as I mentioned, at about 25 years old, it is getting pretty polished from use, so that is still my recommendation. Natural patina, not belt sander, and get a leather strop for the Japanese stuff. I'm going to have to add that to the arsenal. I know my dad used an old belt. Great discussion, as usual.

an afterthought: the cleaver vs razor edge angle raises the question about steeling technique. It is still super important to maintain a fixed angle between knife and steel. When I was first learning to use it, I would actually anchor the end of the steel on cutting board so it would not move and I could maintain a firm wrist/honing angle. People who imitate the TV chef whipping a steel around almost never have developed a feel for that angle. It matters, just as when using stones.