New Japanese Knife or Electric Sharpener?

[Bazzle]

The need to hold a highly consistent angle is greatly exaggerated. I've seen people sharpen with stone in one hand and blade in the other. There is no way the angle is that consistent, but the edges are hair whittling sharp. Don't make it more complicated than it is.

I use belts to sharpen most exclusively, sometimes using a guided system, but I always enjoy sharpening with the edge in one hand and the stone in the other using a circular motion. Not advised but I used this technique sharpening tools for work that not many are familiar with. Hand hewn log homes. You learn the value of a sharp tool pretty fast!
Like you said, "don't make it more complicated than it is",. Very similar to one of the worlds most famous knife makers told me recently!

 

[vaaccess]

So I ended up getting the Diamond Master system, with diamond hones. So very happy that you all pushed me towards the "learn to sharpen first" path. I was super impressed with how sharp my Henckels are after sharpening them! Maybe I'll take a step towards honing by hand at some point, but for now am happy with this solution.

I was putzing around on eBay, googly-eyed looking at Damascus blades. So pretty! I found several that are priced really well, sourced from Pakistan or other similar places. Anyone tried a knife from there or other knives from eBay? I know, it's a little sacrilegious considering others on this forum make knives, but, the price point is super attractive so feel it important that I consider it versus jumping into a much more expensive knife. I'm still hoping for an 8-10" Japanese-style knife to cut vegetables and other similar things.

Thanks!

 

[menyae]

Learning to sharpen freehand or using a fixed angle ceramic sharpener is the best way, especially for Japanese knives. I've been using Idahone sharpeners for 20 years and they have the highest quality ceramic out there. They were a bit hard to find for a long time but finally have an online store at www.idahone.com

 

[SCBaldr]

One of the best investments you'll make is a DMT Fine or extra-fine honing steel. You can make sharpening your knives a rare necessity and make them last a lot longer if you hone before each use. DMT makes one of the best honing steels that I've seen. Before I got mine, when I was cooking professionally, I had my Victorinox 8" Chef's knife sharpened about once a month. After I got it and started using it, I had it sharpened once in every six or eight months. Since I stopped cooking professionally, I've learned to sharpen on Arkansas stones. Then I got Japanese waterstones and thought they were great. Then I discovered DMT Dousharp 10" stones and haven't had to flatten a waterstone since. Its kind of an addiction, sharp things, I mean...