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There are two kinds of "sharpening" that a blade can undergo. That's because there are two kinds of dulling.
The first kind is "warping". When a blade warps, it still has a sharp edge, but the edge has bent slightly to one side or the other. This happens in normal use--faster if you're cutting on hard surfaces like glass or ceramic, slower if you're using wood or plastic cutting boards. Warping is corrected with a sharpening steel--a long, thin cylinder of metal that you run the edge down, or your square block from the OP. You want to use the steel before every cutting session with a good chef's knife.
The second kind of wear is "dulling", where the material that makes up the edge of the knife is literally worn down and the knife's edge becomes less sharp. That's corrected by "honing"--running the blade against a fast-moving grinder. It really should only be done by a pro (though some chefs train themselves in it). If you live in a reasonably metro area, there's probably a traveling guy with a knife sharpening shop in a van that he can drive right up to your kitchen. You can get all your knives honed at the same time, save some money.
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