New WE owner/sharpener…. The more I learn 5/5

Ohhh. Looking forward to hearing reccomendations on a straight razor. I want to pick one up also.

The heck with kitchen knifes for practice. Get some cheap Gerber or kershaw pocket knifes. Change up the bevel on them. Distress the edge and change it up again. Cut some stuff. Dull them on stuff. You can sharpen the same knife lots of times. You can find cheap folders all over that are decent in a pinch. Then when you are all done learning on them throw one in your tool box or glove box in yer car or in yer garage or give it to a friend nice and sharp. Also ask your friends and family to let you sharpen their knives. You are not going to wreck them using the WE. And even though the sharpness may be low to your standards they will far exceed their standards more than likely. I think Wallmart has cheap gerbers and kershaws. You will get more learning and such on some thicker blades like this.

Recently I hadn’t bought a new knife (for myself) in a long time and I wanted something to play with, but I had very little to spend. I decided I wanted a Chinese vegetable cleaver (a chef’s knife) and I was guided to Wok Shop for one. I got this one for $17 shipped:

The steel is basic carbon and takes a nice edge easily, and holds a reasonably low angle. The simple profile is super easy to work with. The grind is rather uneven but that is just more to practice on. I had never used a Chinese cleaver before and I actually like it quite a lot. I can’t think of a better knife for practicing thinning and sharpening and further it is a knife I am actually glad to use.