Recommendation? Good Beginner Knife and sharpener kit

SunnyHours said:
I also have an attraction to Japanese swords like the Katana, Wakizashib etc...
So I have a tendency to go for Tanto blades, but I quite like the shape of a traditional Japanese sword too, and I've grown to like the Wharncliffe. I also like the look of Damascus steel, but I'm unsure of how it compares to other blade steels...it is by no means important for it to be a feature of the knives recommended.
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WHEW! That's a lot of interests in a couple sentences.... but here is a thought or two.

If you like the Wharncliffe and Damascus steel, try the Kershaw Leek in Damascus. KershawGuy probably has one or two. It'll check off the boxes for Damascus, Wharncliffe, and assisted opener. I've always liked the Leek, very handy and easy to carry.

Your "Japanese Sword" thing might be served well by the Cold Steel Kobun. I bought one to throw in the truck, and I must say that it is light, tough, very inexpensive and easy to maintain.

A BuckLite Max will serve your need for a full tang fixed blade. There are a couple sizes to choose from, and they are inexpensive.

I service each of these with a Spyderco Sharpmaker. It makes for very quick work... I could probably sharpen all 3 in a couple of minutes... the Buck 420HC and Kobun's AUS-8 are especially painless on the Spydie.

None of these knives are expensive. The Kobun is around $40, BuckLite Max around $25.... the Leek will only be expensive if you insist on the Damascus version, and still it's only $80-ish. So you won't fret about learning how to sharpen them on a system that's new to you, whether you go with the Sharpmaker or some other gear.

But inexpensive doesn't mean "cheap" either. I am happy with the quality of each of these pieces for what they are.
 
Thanks a lot for the recommendations guys (and gals?)
Come to think of it, to make things easier, because I'm good at finding cheap but quality deals. What's trickier is finding things that will last and are useful...
I basically need 3 knives;
1- compact ~3"-3.25" lightweight EDC like the BM 530/531 or BM Nakamura Axis or BM 470-1 (assisted opening is cool...but I think I have a thing for the 530/531...especially with the G10 handles/scales)

2- a larger EDC compatible knife, something around ~3.4"-3.6" as lightweight as possible....something like the BM

3- a bushcrafting knife something solid, rather thick and around 4". Lightweight is good but not at the expense of strength...something like a BM Bushcrafter or a BM 15007-1

Sorry for only giving out Benchmade examples. I thought I'd make a statement by showing price is of no consequence (up until a point...if there is no advantages to pay more I won't, especially if it doesn't help function/design/quality/durability or reduce weight. And if it does nothing aesthetically though it's not a priority, a good looking knife is always more pleasant than an ugly one lol

Just a few questions about knife maintenance, care and sharpening/stropping...

Is it more of a pain to sharpen a blade with a coating on it, usually black, and is there any advantages or disadvantages to getting the black coated version?

Also, from what I understand, Tanto's wouldn't be very useful for my uses. For EDC it's your typical fruit cutting, wire slicing and general maintenance stuff.
From what I understand so far, a blade that'll be used for slicing needs either a convex or concave shape to slice well...it makes sense physically, but do I have it right? Or close enough at least?

Also, is it that much of a hassle to sharpen serrations?

Thanks a lot again!
 
Coatings generally have little effect on sharpening of a knife.

For slicing, edge geometry and thickness behind the edge are important. Convex edges are fairly common in choppers like axes, kukris, and large knives. They can slice fine as well if the concave is acute enough but favor being thick behind the edge.

Concave = hollow grind. They tend to be exceptional slicers at the lose of strength. By design, these tend to be thin behind the edge. The catch here is that if the media being cut is as long as the blade it can cause some friction as it hits the top of the hollow grind (cheeks). This is one of the allures of scandi grind for carving wood as it creates space between the media and the flat section of the knife and convex tends to do similar.

Full flat grind also tends to lend itself to being good at slicing and also has a little thickness behind the edge fro durability. It's often viewed as a great all-around grind type. This is what most spyderco knives will have and I prefer it under most conditions.

There are often mixes of grinds like a hollow primary grind with a convex edge, a scadivex blending a scandi and convex, a low hollow grind that's like a saber (low flat) and hollow grind. Hollow, convex, low flat/saber, and full flat are by far and away the most common that I see, full flat and hollow probably being far more common on the nicer knives in the categories you're looking, saber and flat on the 5"+ lengths and convex on custom makers blades as it's pretty easy to do with a belt grinder which is a common tool for handmade knives. There are a few larger scale manufacturers using convex grind on some models as well but I see it more commonly in the small batch or one-piece at a time handmade options.

Here's a few links that show blade grinds.
https://www.theknifeconnection.net/blade-grind-types/
https://www.knivesshipfree.com/knif...ntages-and-disadvantages-of-different-grinds/
https://agrussell.com/knife-articles/blade-grinds
 
Good beginner knife? Opinel.

Buy several, they are cheap. Use the snot out of them and practice sharpening them - THEN move on to other knives.

Take a Dremel to one and cut it into any shape you like (dont let the blade get too warm).

Sharpener? Lansky. Its nigh on impossible to use wrong as a guided angle sharpening process.

Its a cheap and good sharpener.
 
One more vote for the Rat1or2 Maybe ESEE Avispa? All you really need is a fine and corse stone. i got one at wally world for $15 or so. A full flat grind IMO is the easiest to sharpen. Maybe you want the AUS8 version first? People say D2 is hard to sharpen. I havnt found that the case, but i sharpened a whole bunch of other stuff long before D2 was as available today. My gf's learning on a Rat2 in AUS8 with that stone she does pretty good.
 
I think the G10 mini grip from Benchmade would be a solid choice for your compact knife category. Blade shape should be your preference, both are equally useful in my opinion. Absolutely excellent steel(20CV), and it just so happens it's not too super difficult to sharpen either. Great knife to step up to.

As a sharpener I'd say stones as well. Even a cheap double sided diamond stone would do the trick. Later on after you get the basics down you'll have a better idea of what you want out of a system(or be content with stones like I am, haha).
 
Most knives are about 20 degress on either edge. If you hold the blade like your cutiing thats 90. then half that to 45 then half that is about 20, or you could lay the edge itself on the stone. again most factory edges are 20
 
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