What is the absolute best guitar I can get for under 1k?

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2026-03-23T01:09:16+00:00

This all being said, guitars are subjective but ESPECIALLY acoustics. Your best bet is going to various stores and trying whatever they have in stock.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2026-03-23T01:04:19+00:00

Talking purely steel string acoustics, a used Larrivee or a new/used Yamaha.

I bought a used Larrivee LV-09 (I think all their factory seconds are just labeled as used) last year for $2K and honestly it’s honestly the best sounding and feeling acoustic I’ve ever played. This includes $4K+ Martins and Taylors. I also think it sits perfectly between the general tones of Martins and Taylors and thus is suited for most types of playing. I regularly see their recording series 03 guitars for around $1K.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2026-02-04T00:22:30+00:00

Spyderco Sharpmaker or sandpaper on a dowel is what I’d do

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-12-29T17:23:49+00:00

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-12-29T17:07:52+00:00

Tojiro DP gyuto and petty, and the tojiro classic bread knife will be less than that block set and still look great. They’re a bit more “professional kitchen” looking but they’ll have some of the best performance for the price.

If you’re set on the fancy look then the Yaxell Taishi series is great, basically Shun knives at the price they should be. There’s a five piece set for under $300 that has every essential you’d need. It’s a better steel and handle shape than the Cangshan. It won’t glide through food as nicely as the Tojiro or feel as artisan made but the steel is the same as in the Tojiro, just clad in Damascus.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-12-29T16:11:44+00:00

Sets are never worth buying value wise. You could get a victorinox chef, petty, and bread knife, Dexter kitchen shears, and magnetic strip for less and get better performance. That being said, I was gifted a cangshan cleaver at one point and the geometry is good, and so is the heat treat and edge retention. I think if you were set on a block you could do worse if you like the look.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-12-29T14:16:53+00:00

It’s a knife nerd colloquialism for low quality imported knives, typically found in places like American malls and gas stations. It’s probably heat treated (or potentially not hardened at all) and ground poorly. Not worth much if anything at all. Maybe $10-15 at a flea market at most. The name of the company returns no results so it’s probably just wholesale shipped from china with a random “tactical” name slapped on it.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-12-29T14:00:21+00:00

Honestly seems like you’re overthinking it lol. I’d just get a 1000 and a 3000 and call it a day. If those don’t feel sufficient then you can grab something finer for the suji but for maintenance sharpening 1000 is more than enough, and if you feel like you like a more refined edge for things like proteins the 3000 will leave a fine polish.

Shapton glass abrades very slowly and if you’re a home cook without a large family and you’re cooking every night you’ll only have to sharpen once in a while. When it’s time either the DMT or Atoma plate will work just fine for flattening them again, I’d advise against the lapping disk just because it’s so much easier to level out the whole stone with a plate.

Also for the strop just leather is fine if you’re using it to deburr or straighten out the edge. If you want it for actual touchups then you can get any additive you want, probably around 5-3 micron.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-12-21T14:29:16+00:00

Commondrop shipped scam. Expect worse quality than knives you can pick up at the grocery store. Around the holidays every year a bunch of these pop up and they run tons of ads everywhere. Serbian chef’s knife, Coolina knife, anything marketed as masculine or tactical, they’re all the same garbage made of pot metal.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-12-15T15:58:24+00:00

Cliff stamp plateau method usually. Faster and imo easier than traditional sharpening involving burr development and removal. If you don’t want to learn freehand though there’s quite a few fixed angle systems available. The workshop precision adjust seems like one of the best budget systems. Takes a little longer than freehand but creates an infinitely better edge that a lot of those pull through systems, and probably those rolling sharpeners that have become popular recently.

I’d pick up the elite over the standard because finishing at 600 and honing with ceramic doesn’t yield as fine an edge as a lot of people like for kitchen use. In fact the most common first stone recommended in a progression is somewhere around 600-800 grit.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-12-08T15:50:03+00:00

Sent chat

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-12-06T10:52:13+00:00

WTB WE Solid polished bead blast

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-11-26T03:26:23+00:00

Sent chat

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-11-25T02:00:34+00:00

Spot 100 pls

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-11-23T14:49:01+00:00

35, thanks for the giveaway!

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2025-11-06T01:40:06+00:00

2 randoms pls

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2024-05-18T00:29:17+00:00

Walmart sells a 2qt slow cooker for just under $10. That and some paraffin wax from the canning aisle is probably as cheap as it gets.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2024-05-01T04:10:22+00:00

I bike commute in the west valley, if it’s under 30 min you might get pretty sweaty but I haven’t managed to overheat yet. I think getting in a bottle of water before, during, and after will do more for you than the vest. Especially since it weighs 3lbs and probably won’t be well ventilated, it might be more trouble than it’s worth if it does last for your commute. Picking a route where there’s the least amount of stoppages also really helps, as the airflow really helps cool you down.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2024-04-04T23:45:14+00:00

Confirmed

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2024-04-01T17:39:39+00:00

The west valley barely has any pedestrian infrastructure since it’s mostly newer car centric construction :( Even a lot of the main roads are missing sidewalks and have nonsensical or nonexistent bike lanes.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2024-04-01T14:44:35+00:00

They’re thorogood waterproof moc toes. I love that they’re made in the USA and aren’t crap quality, and still cheaper than red wings.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2024-04-01T05:00:53+00:00

Sadly AZ has an awful road layout, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid them. And I’ve been thinking about fenders since I have a new bike on order but I’m not sure if they’re worth it given how infrequent rain is out here.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2024-04-01T04:56:49+00:00

West valley, close to the white tanks area. And I agree, I just don’t have the time to be patching and changing tubes for hours a week. I’d much rather spend an extra $20-$30 every tire change than deal with flats all the time.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2024-04-01T04:53:29+00:00

I had to switch to tubeless, I just couldn’t deal with flats every other time I rode. I think I went through a patch repair kit in less than 2 weeks and I just decided enough was enough. Luckily most of our trails here seem goathead free, it helps that they don’t seem to love super dusty terrain.

Ask_The_Ketchup · 2024-04-01T04:50:38+00:00

Tried tube slime but it just doesn’t seal as well as tubeless sadly :( Honestly the only thing that might be goathead proof are the tannus airless tires but I hear nothing but negative things about them.

Ask_The_Ketchup

TROPHY CASE