I’m looking for a better knife sharpener for my hard steel chef knife. I think whetstones are the way to go, but most of the sets I see are 4 double sided stones. Do I need that many stones?
Is there a totally different type of sharpener that you have had success with?
Edit: I should add that I like my knife very sharp, and I have a few tiny chips in the cutting edge from a cheap drag-through sharpener.
If you are looking for something to help you get a perfect edge I have been using an Edgepro Apex sharpening system for years and it produces an amazing result. You can pick the stones you want and there are even some aftermarket options available. The benefit of this system is that once you pick your desired sharpening angle, the system will keep that angle consistent across the knife edge. I really like mine. They also just released an updated version called the bevel tech with some upgrades/improvements. They also let you send in a knife for them to sharpen to test out the quality of the results.
Edge Pro Sharpener