Like most people, I lived most of my life using various knife block sets I got on sale at some event or a home goods store. When we got married, we were gifted a Martha Stewart set of knives. I thought I was set. But, inevitably, the knives got dull. I asked a chef friend how they sharpened their knives and they suggested an electrical pull through knife sharpener. It worked, I didn’t have dull knives again.
Everything changed when my wife got me a Japanese knife for my birthday in 2011. It was Misono UX10. I realized that there was a lot more to cutting than just how sharp a knife was. I included a link below if you want to check it out on Amazon. You can also google it to find other knife vendors that sell it. I highly recommend this as a first step into the Japanese knife world!
The Amazon link is an affiliate link. They do not sponsor me to advertise their product.