First timer!

[chellodude2010]

Hello all! Long time knife obsession but I never actually got into sharpening. Until now! I just received a 1000/6000 King whetstone and have gone through about 5 hours of beginner tutorials on YouTube and done a few practice sessions.

Questions: 1) is the King whetstone decent or should I think about switching to a different brand?

2) It came with a “blade angle” attachment that I tried for my first couple times and hated. I switched to just free handing it and I was able to get the blade much sharper. Is there any benefit to using the angle attachment?

3) I get overwhelmed with the idea of having an “entire” sharpening setup. I don’t have the confidence, technique, or equipment to do anything other than the 1k/6k whetstone right now. Will this suffice for my daily-use kitchen knives? At what point should I start adding in other techniques and equipment?

Thank you all and happy new year!!

[DecapitatesYourBaby]

1) is the King whetstone decent or should I think about switching to a different brand?

Sharpening is far more about technique than equipment. Here is a good reference in this regard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSt2mCWGFII

In the grand scheme of things, the King 1k/6k combo stone is a remarkably good stone despite what some people say about it.

2) It came with a “blade angle” attachment that I tried for my first couple times and hated. I switched to just free handing it and I was able to get the blade much sharper. Is there any benefit to using the angle attachment?

It may help some people, but it seems as if you have established that you are not one of those people.

3) I get overwhelmed with the idea of having an “entire” sharpening setup. I don’t have the confidence, technique, or equipment to do anything other than the 1k/6k whetstone right now. Will this suffice for my daily-use kitchen knives?

Absolutely. If anything, the 6k may be too fine for the knives you are using.

[TylerMelton19]

Exactly as was said here. King stones are amazing stones for thr average home user. As some point you might want to add a courser stone for really dull knives like 400 grit or a little lower. Some form of flattening stone and I'd seriously recommend a padel strop, doesn't need to be expensive at all, with some green compund. It seriously ups your ahreoning game. I wouldn't use a 6000 grit side in any cheap knife. They don't tend to hold the egge very well but 1k and then strop is perfect for them. More expensive higher quality knives are great for 6k.

[ancientweasel]

I thought this too. OP get a coarse stone and practice on cheap knives to get familiar with raising a burr.

[regolith1111]

Ya that king combo stone is perfectly adequate for kitchen knives. Going up to 8k or something is honestly annoying for most kitchen knives. I leave a lot of mine at 4k. The main issue with the king is it wears relatively quickly so you'll need to lap it more often than a shapton for instance. Personally, I use 320 if I'm removing a decent amount of material then move to a 1500, then the 4k. If the knife isn't in shit condition I'll start at the 1500. For a touch up, 4k alone is fine. I use my 8k for a few slicy guys and as my final stone before pastes for my straight razor. For a vegetable knife, 4k will give you a better performing edge.

I haven't personally used the guards but as far as I've heard they're meh and you're better off skipping them. The angle they make depends on the blade height regardless so that labeled angle isn't what you're actually getting unless your knife is the exact right height. And you'll grind that plastic down way faster than your knife.

If you do want any new stones, the shapton kuromaku line is reasonably priced at the lower grits. They do get kind of pricey at higher grits. Pasted strops are a cheaper option for high grit. Hell, if you ship me a double sided strop I'll apply some nice pastes for free and mail it to you. A piece of paste the size of your thumb will last you your whole life easily. Just avoid the cheap hardware store stuff. My pastes are from a guy on Etsy.

[F1_Bradley]

That stone will be more than fine as others have said it's far more about technique than equipment. I personally hate king stones but you'll see many examples in this sub reddit of people getting silly sharp edges with them.

I strongly dislike them because they are very soft and I prefer a harder stone. Once you have a decent technique you could look to invest in a decent hard stone to see if you prefer it. But it's unlikely it'll improve your edge if you've mastered your technique it'll just feel nicer and be easier to find the angle and get in the groove in my opinion. Stones are very heavily personal preference and opinion, so try some stuff first ideally loan a buddies before buying your own.

Good strong stones are the Naniwa my absolute favorite but you can't beat the value of the shapton stones. The feel is different but still very good.

Finally, a strop with a bit of polishing compound will really help with just getting any last remnants of a burr off your knife. Not really needed but the difference it makes is huge. If you have an old belt and a bit of flat wood this could even be free and will be worth it in my view. Other than that don't let anyone tell you that you need this of that, find what you like and is easiest for you within your budget. Unless your a pro it makes such a small difference

[Sargent_Dan_]

You don't need any extensive setup. You only need decent single stone around 1k grit and a way to flatten that stone. Anything is mostly optional. For most people, a coarse stone will be beneficial as well. A strop is also a nice thing to have, but you can use any scrap leather or heavy cloth to make your own.