newb looking for sharpening stone advice

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Feuros

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Hello all! This is my first post here, but I've been reading for a few weeks.
After reading a ton of posts, I decided to take the plunge and order my first "good" kitchen knives. I decided to start with a 150mm petty and a 240mm gyuto, both Carbonexts.
I'm not a professional, but I cook at home daily and after complaining how dull my knives were 2 days after sharpening I decided I needed something better. The carbonext seemed like one of the best bang-for-the-buck choices for a beginner.

Now, I realize that half of my problem is my old, crappy knives (a couple Henkles with one man and some god knows whats) but the other half is my total lack of sharpening knowledge.

With my knives due to arrive this week, I realize I'm going to need to get some proper sharpening gear before too long.
I've tried doing some reading here to figure out what to get, but the options are a little overwhelming.

I'm leaning a little towards a King 1000/6000 combo stone, but I'd like to hear some advice on other or better options.
I don't mind spending a little more or going with a multiple stone setup. I'm assuming these things will last for years, so I'd just as soon pay a bit more up front and not have to buy something else a year down the road.

Also, if anyone can point me towards some good resources on learning proper sharpening technique, that would also be very helpful.
Also, can someone explain the use of magic marker?

Thanks for any help!
 
JKI's YT channel is a treasure trove of sharpening goodness. For stones, I would go with some gesshin stones, or a beston 1200 and suehiro rika 5k. The king is a good place to start, but the gesshin, beston, and suehiro are probably "better" stones. Also, pick up something with which you could flatten your stones as well. Most people use diamond plates, but there are other budget options (usually some sort of abrasive mounted on a flat surface).

Ok, magic marker! So what you do is use the magic marker to mark the knife's edge (or other place you want to grind). When you're sharpening, the marker should disappear from the steel as the steel is being abraded away. This trick tells you that you're hitting the edge and actually sharpening.
 
If you want to dive right in, I'd recommend the Gesshin 2k from Japanese Knife Imports and a flattening plate. The 2k cuts fast, gives a nice, sharp, but toothy edge, doesn't dish as fast as a coarser stone and gives good feedback. It works great on stainless and semi-stainless steels. I prefer it to the Bester 1200. Also, the CarboNext is known for not having a very sharp edge to start (even with the ES option) so you'll probably want those stones sooner than later.

Jon of JKI also has a couple of 1k stones as well that come highly recommended by others (I haven't tried them yet). I wouldn't recommend a stone coarser than 1k to start; you can abrade away a lot of material quickly using a coarse stone, especially on softer steels like your Henckels. I accidentally reprofiled a Wusthof using a 400 stone in less than 15 minutes when I first started trying to sharpen on my own.

P.S. - Welcome to KKF!
 
Welcome! Many start with the king combo and Carter is supposed to just use that for sharpening. That being said, if you are like many here you will soon feel the urge to upgrade and if you just want to skip the first step then I too would recommend the GG stones as top notch. And the link James posted is worth every bit of time you care to put in watching.

Cheers!
 
I would recommend starting with the gesshin 2k as well, it cuts very fast, has a nice finish, and doesn't dish too bad plus it cuts all types of steel and doesn't clog very much.

It's one of the top stones in my opinion however I don't see the point in buying lesser quality stones to just upgrade later as I did and regretted it.

Get that and a diamond stone for flattening and you will be good. Once you can get a great edge off the 2k then invest in a coarse and finishing stone, I'd probably go no lower than 400 the gesshin 400 cuts extremely fast if almost rather look
Into the 600 he has and use the diamond plate for anything further.

I may sound bias about jki stones but they have been great to me and I wish I would have went with better quality to start with less frustrations Along the way.
 
Thanks for the great replies!

How about a finer stone? A 6000 or higher? Or am I going to be fine to start with the just 1200 or 2000 mentioned above?
 
Welcome! Many start with the king combo and Carter is supposed to just use that for sharpening. That being said, if you are like many here you will soon feel the urge to upgrade and if you just want to skip the first step then I too would recommend the GG stones as top notch. And the link James posted is worth every bit of time you care to put in watching.

Cheers!

whay are GG stones?
 
Thanks for the great replies!

How about a finer stone? A 6000 or higher? Or am I going to be fine to start with the just 1200 or 2000 mentioned above?

start with the Gesshin 2k or a 1k stone. It will cut fast enough to remove metal and give you feedback as well as a decent cutting edge but wont remove enough metal to where you will seriously damage the knife.

Once you are getting really even bevels and great edges off the 2k then think about getting a finishing stone and a coarse stone. Id recommend a natural for a finishing stone (maxim) can help you with that, for a coarse stone later on bester 500 or the gesshin 400 or 600 would be great.

but really get good on your middle stone before thinking about moving around it will give you everything you need for right now anyways.
 
Whats the general opinion on Norton India stones, mostly for sharpening a Carbonext and a Sabatier Nogent?
 
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