Just starting out, looking for advice for the home

[Mingooch]

Being new, don't let carbon steel worry you. As long as you put a little care towards it, it is fine. And I do really mean only a little, like not leaving wet or soaking etc or with food on it. When I was new I started with carbon since it is easier to sharpen, and I never regretted it at all.

[Tripwyr]

actually, i recommend the suisin inox western 210mm. it's stainless and costs just over $100. not to mention it also has a darker wood handle like you mentioned. you can use the rest of the money on a basic combo stone and a parer. for a home cook with no idea about sharpening and little experience with knives in general, i think starting out with a pretty decent knife like the inox western is better than jumping into a stainless laser.

you can pick up the inox western from korin or jki. either company will also sell a decent/good combo stone and some options for inexpensive paring knives.

if you're set on the ginga anyway, then congrats, it's an awesome knife and i use mine daily at work.

I'm definitely not set on the Ginga, I don't think I can justify spending the entire budget on the knife then buying stones + paring knife on top.

The Inox western looks nice, but I was hoping to find a Wa handle. What about the Gesshin Uraku series (210MM Stainless, 240MM Stainless, or 240MM White #2 Kurouchi)? It is around a similar price point and I'm no longer concerned about the colour of the handle; I've realized I'm moving in less than 8 months so don't need to match the decor of a kitchen I'm leaving.

Is cleaning and drying the knife after using the only required care for a carbon knife? If so, I already do that with my existing knives so it shouldn't be an issue to continue.

How does this sound; Gesshin Uraku 240MM White #2 Wa-Gyuto, Suisin Inox Western 80MM Paring Knife, King 1000/6000 Combo Stone? This puts me only slightly over budget at $312 after shipping.

[Ruso]

Well, it puts you at 25% markup from your original budged. In addition, don't forget that we, Canadians, pay taxes on non NA made imports. And all this knifes and stones are from Japan. Hence include about 20%+ more for the duty and brokerage fees.
I suggest you browse through Tosho - http://toshoknifearts.com/ or knifewear - http://knifewear.com/ both Canadian web sites and see what they have for your budget.

[JHunter]

Lee Valley is a good Canadian Source for stones to save all those other charges mentioned above as well

[Tripwyr]

Well, it puts you at 25% markup from your original budged. In addition, don't forget that we, Canadians, pay taxes on non NA made imports. And all this knifes and stones are from Japan. Hence include about 20%+ more for the duty and brokerage fees.
I suggest you browse through Tosho - http://toshoknifearts.com/ or knifewear - http://knifewear.com/ both Canadian web sites and see what they have for your budget.

Didn't really consider that. Looking at Lee Valley Tools, they have a 1000/4000 combination stone. Would this be an effective starter stone?

Looking through both knifewear and Tosho, there doesn't seem to be anything which speaks to me in my price range. After page 20 I got tired of the page-by-page layout of Tosho, and none of the Wa-handle knives on knifewear are in my price range. Maybe I'll just get the Gyuto on JKI and pick up the rest from Canadian sites?

[Ruso]

King 1000/4000 at Lee Valley is good option. It's not 1000/6000 but as somebody who just start you wont really notice a difference.

Do not understand me wrong, JKI and other US retailers are very good option, you just need to keep the duty fees in mind to no be surprised at delivery date.

[eighteesix]

You can start watching Jon's videos on sharpening. Maybe you can pick up a couple of stones too from him. http://www.youtube.com/user/JKnifeImports/videos

seconded. watching all of his videos wont take too long and youll gain a wealth of knowledge.

[Tripwyr]

King 1000/4000 at Lee Valley is good option. It's not 1000/6000 but as somebody who just start you wont really notice a difference.

Do not understand me wrong, JKI and other US retailers are very good option, you just need to keep the duty fees in mind to no be surprised at delivery date.

Yeah, so far from my research JKI has the best options in my price point even after taking shipping/duties into account. I'm going to buy the Gyuto at JKI, the water stones at Lee Valley Tools, and the paring knife from Amazon. Here is my list:

Japanese Knife Imports

Gesshin Uraku 240MM #2 White Kurouchi Wa-Gyuto - $135
Shipping - $35.95
Import Estimate - $27
Total - $197.95

Lee Valley Tools

Truing Stone - $30.50
1000x/4000x Combination Stone - $37.50
Tax - $8.84
Total - $76.84

Amazon

Shun Classic 3-1/2 Paring Knife - $87.50
Tax - $11.38
Shipping - Free (Prime)
Total - $98.88

Total - $373.67

Obviously this is over budget, but I will probably skip the paring knife for a month or two until I get fit it into the budget. Without the paring knife the total comes to $275 all in, which is only $25 over budget. I think this is probably the level I am most comfortable with, as it starts me off with reasonable but not outrageous quality. Am I missing anything here, do I need a ceramic rod?

[greasedbullet]

I am going to be honest. $100 is a lot to spend on a non custom paring knife. I would recommend an opinel (carbone or inox are both good) or a sabatier pairing knife, or a fibrox. Pairing knives get a lot of hard use when the are used and are used infrequently at that. I have been using an opinel pairing knife for years and am comletely happy with it.

[Tripwyr]

I am going to be honest. $100 is a lot to spend on a non custom paring knife. I would recommend an opinel (carbone or inox are both good) or a sabatier pairing knife, or a fibrox. Pairing knives get a lot of hard use when the are used and are used infrequently at that. I have been using an opinel pairing knife for years and am comletely happy with it.

The only problem was that I was having trouble finding a cheap paring knife, but I found an Opinel Paring Knife for $11.49 ($7.47 shipping)! This brings my grand total to less than $300, which is pretty damn good (I had actually budgeted the $250 excluding shipping, so I'm actually below budget).

I just realized I am missing a honing rod/steel, do I need one? If so, can anybody make a recommendation?

EDIT: I found this Messermeister for $30 + free shipping, and this Edgeware for $19.99 + free shipping.

Are either of those good, and if so, which should I choose?