Review on Norton Waterstone Flatting Starter Kit by Brad Jeffress

These bad guys are a lot easier to handle than you might expect. I'm a seasoned home cook who sticks my knives in the heating pad almost every day. Don't get me wrong, I'm good with my blades (never dishwasher safe, only end cut or plastic cutting boards), but I will cut, dice, knit, and julienne any veggies I can get my hands on. my hands. I usually send my 5 main knives sharpened once or twice a year, but I've always been confused as to how much metal the belt sharpening method takes. I bought the book The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alta and in it he gives a few pages of text boxes about the benefits of sharpening your own knives with waterstones. I was afraid I might completely ruin my prized blades, but his article, which explains it step-by-step and demystifies the more difficult parts, gave me the confidence I needed to try it. Lopez-Alt says he believes that hand-sharpening your own knives also helps you get to know your knives better. I kind of rolled my eyes at the thought, but after sharpening my set a few times, I'm almost embarrassed to admit I understand what he's saying. This set is great because it has everything you need right away. I only used 220 grit on a few of my knives that did more damage, otherwise I stayed with 1000 and 4000/8000 both sides of the stone. The 8000 grit probably won't offer much edge when sharpened, but will give a nice mirror finish to the surface being sharpened. It takes about 10-15 minutes to sharpen each knife depending on how damaged the blade is and how careful you want to be with it. You will also need to soak the stones for 30-45 minutes (I've heard this takes no more than 20 minutes). The process itself isn't dirty, but it's not entirely clean either. I kept the unused stone in a 9x13 pyrex container and used the other stone on a towel on the kitchen counter. Since you have to regularly drip some water on the stone to keep it oiled, I end up in my kitchen with a fairly wet towel and a few drops of dirty water. Nothing major, but it's good to know what you're getting yourself into. Set aside an hour or two to soak stones into a spotless kitchen. I really appreciate that this method removes almost no metal from my knives and I love that I can move the knife around until I have the right edge. Looking for. I don't know if it was just me convincing myself there was something special about it, but I've never had a more joyful knife cut than the first one I cut after sharpening my chef's knife myself. I really felt more connected to my knives. I think this set is a great option for beginners. You will spend more money if you buy all the parts separately. There may be superior water stones, but that's more than enough for the vast majority of users. I got this set and countless sharpeners for the same price I used to pay to sharpen my 5 basic knives. worth your money.