I'm sick of dull knives and sawing my sashimi like a peasant, can you guys recommend me a quality whetstone appropriate for a beginner and a broad range of everyday knives? I know the King 1000/6000 is well regarded but would it be appropriate for a beginner?
If you also know of any great articles or videos for a beginner to consume then that'll be fantastic! Thanks.
Ideally, my budget would be less than $50.
Would a guide rail aid in getting the angle right? Any recommendation of which King whetstone?
Yep the rail would probably be a good start to give you a feel of the angle to do it until you get more experience.
I reckon just get the King 1000/6000 stone. Going to be above budget, but will do the job. And maybe later chuck in another stone grit in between the two if required
You could get something like the Norton combo stone from Bunnings (bout $38), but I don't think it has a fine enough grit for knives. I use one for Chisels, and whilst it does the job - its probably not as sharp as I would like - but didn't want to fork out the money for a King or Diamond Stones for my 30 dollar chisels.
Have you tried honing with a steel? I've got some henkel knives that are several year old, but honing is more than enough. Haven't needed to sharpen with a whetstone yet!
Also with honing you are much much less likely to damage your knife - you are essentially pushing the blade of the knife back to centre. Where sharpening (whether with a whetstone or guide) you are cutting bits off the knife
Moved house 10 years ago, couldn't find the kitchen boxes so I went and got a cheap knife & steel from the local ye olde junke shop.
I still use it a few times a week, never been sharpened just honed with the steel, still sharp enough.
Never did bother to unpack my 'good' knives.
OP needs to get himself some 'cheap junk' to practice on, plus compare the difference to his 'good' stuff.
All I have is a Dollar store whetstone…
Still, it keeps my chef's knife in pretty darn good shape.
As above a $2 whetstone can achieve very good results.
Technique is going to play a more important role than the model of Whetstone.
King should be fine, but as a beginner your biggest problem will be getting the angle right, so you might end up with a knife that is less sharp than you began with. Japanese knives tend to have a finer angle than European knives I believe.
For my knives I just use a pull through knife sharpener. But then again I am not making sashimi, but they still manage to cut my fingers a treat.