Thanks for the input everyone, it definitely helps! To answer some of the questions...I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker but patience and the ability to hold the knife the same for 2 passes isn't my strong suit. I also tend to let the edge go away to long before trying to touch up the edge. The budget was just based off the mid range Henkles, if I don't have to spend that much great but I'm comfortable spending that.
As for learning, hell yeah I'm all for it and much of the reason I'm on the forum! I will definitely be looking through YouTube to see what the differences between all the kitchen knives are and what we really need in out kitchen. I'm not processing game at my house, buddy has a shack for processing on his farm and we definitely process instead of true butchering. Don't get me wrong the lions and such are definitely treated with respect but our average deer size doesn't make for a lot of packages of choice cuts...especially on a shoulder hit. There are some catfish that also get filleted a couple times a year.
It also sounds like there is more preference for the Japanese steel/VG-10 than other European materials which surprised me. Again I'm thinking from the average consumer viewpoint. A quick look at Amazon shows 1000 different brands of VG-10 knives, are these using the same blanks or should I be looking for certain details?
I also never even thought about the type of cutting board. End grain makes sense, any special place to get a quality one so fluids don't get sucked into the grain? How about steak knives for guests?
Thanks again everyone and keep it coming...you've definitely put a purchase on temporary hold while I dig deeper and learn some new stuff.
