I started with a major plus as a home cook... my family cooks and my father keeps his knives super sharp with a whetstone. For a while, I was able to have him sharpen my knives on a regular basis. But recently, that became too cumbersome; it was time for me to develop some whetstone skills. But without knowing the steepness of the learning curve or risking damaging my usable knives, what to do?
I went the financially conservative route: I found a cheap whetstone at the local dollar store and picked up some practice knives from the thrift store.
What I learned:
-it's a matter of practice.
-even inexpensive thrift store knives can be sharpened to be perfectly functional kitchen tools (and gardening tools)
-I picked up a nice Henckels chef's knife from a thrift store for $2. I may never pay full price for a knife again :)!
So next time you're tempted to 'invest' a kitchen knife, know that a few dollars and a little practice can produce a similar result.
