That shiny knife is made by Shun. It's part of their Bob Kramer replica series. I got it as part of a set a long time ago and I'm not sure if they still make them. It's made from steel that I previously referred to as "chippy." I ground out a couple of chips and sharpened it up again so it's back in usable condition.

Bob Kramer is maybe the most famous maker of chef's knives in the world and the problem with the Shun knife is that they got the blade profile totally wrong. The first knife on that rack is a new Bob Kramer replica by Zwilling Henckels and has the correct profile. It's also made from carbon steel rather than a type of stainless, so it reacts with certain foods and gets discolored, but oh well.

And yeah, that's ceramic honing rod. I think it was made by Dexter-Russell. I'm curious how your experiment with dry again goes, but $4.50/lb for any high end cut of beef makes me wonder if it hasn't already been "aged."