Looking for a beater....

[Zwiefel]

I need to put in more time on the stones, but don't want to do it with my current EQ...so looking for a beater that will be a good teacher.

Any ideas? Or even someone wanting to sell something suitable?

[knyfeknerd]

Don't get anything VG10. It will frustrate the heck out of ya. Most, not all of my VG10 's are such PITA 's to sharpen.

[Zwiefel]

Don't get anything VG10. It will frustrate the heck out of ya. Most, not all of my VG10 's are such PITA 's to sharpen.

I'm thinking Carbon, esp white is the best choice?

[BraisedorStewed]

If you use white you might be spoiled be the ease of sharpening. When you switch to some other knives you may find that your edges are not what you expected. If you are only going to be sharpening carbon I think white is a good option. However, if in the future you plan on sharpening a mix of stainless (disregarding some high end ones like AEB-L) and carbon I would find something a bit more difficult to sharpen. my 2cents.

Drew

[Zwiefel]

If you use white you might be spoiled be the ease of sharpening. When you switch to some other knives you may find that your edges are not what you expected. If you are only going to be sharpening carbon I think white is a good option. However, if in the future you plan on sharpening a mix of stainless (disregarding some high end ones like AEB-L) and carbon I would find something a bit more difficult to sharpen. my 2cents.

Drew

Interesting perspective....any suggestions? Maybe a carbon beater now, and a stainless later?

[GlassEye]

What were you cutting with before you found this place?

[droshi]

Also, you should think about what types of knives you want to sharpen. I wanted to get into single bevels, so I bought a $50 yanagi on ebay that supposedly had good steel, but bad fit & finish. It sharpens up nicely, but the grind will take a lot of work to even out.

I would look into sharpening steels that you plan to own, but get one that the fit and finish is poor if possible. Also keep in mind, these knives sometimes require the MOST skill to actually sharpen fully along the edge, but you should get some idea of what's going on if you use a sharpie and a medium grit stone.

[Zwiefel]

What were you cutting with before you found this place?

VG10 Gyuto + Henckel's 8" Chef's. The Henckel's I sharpen pretty much everytime I get the stones out, whether it needs it or not...I really need a coarse stone to fix the geometry on it though (15 years of using a RADA sharpener has had an effect).

[Zwiefel]

Also, you should think about what types of knives you want to sharpen. I wanted to get into single bevels, so I bought a $50 yanagi on ebay that supposedly had good steel, but bad fit & finish. It sharpens up nicely, but the grind will take a lot of work to even out.

I would look into sharpening steels that you plan to own, but get one that the fit and finish is poor if possible. Also keep in mind, these knives sometimes require the MOST skill to actually sharpen fully along the edge, but you should get some idea of what's going on if you use a sharpie and a medium grit stone.

Good idea...any specific suggestions?

[bieniek]

cheap, thick and carbon clad.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Sak...item58952c12cc