L-6 is some sturdy shit. Corrosion becomes an issues however. I'm not familiar with good ways to keep working knives corrosion free. My Japanese kitchen knives use steel from a company called PowderMetal I think. One is "blue" and the other is "white". I think the Shun top knives use similar metal but then sandwich it with stainless. In those I keep them oiled like crazy. But one time I must not have completely covered one of them. It has the smallest patch of corrosion. Made me furious. I think that if you handle these steels right you can get them to patina and not worry so much about rust.The edge is a differrnt story though. The other option would be to ceracoat it. I worry about sharpening something with ceracoat ruining my stones however. Speaking of real knifes. The soon to be W and I are looking to have someone buy us some pots, pans and knifes. I need to become an expert and then find a place that people would buy them from. Knives are easy. Buy what fits your hands and cutting styles. For most people this includes: - Chef's knife of some type -> spend 80% of your budget here as you should use it 80% of the time - Pairing knife -> here sharper isn't always better. It is more comfortable to use a Wusthoff in your hand than a really sharp Japanese blade. Save some money, get a reasonable blade with a handle that is appropriate - Bread knife -> serrated and reasonable. Doesn't even have to be that comfortable - Filet/boning knife -> if you don't do either of the tasks, don't bother. If you do, up your budget as you need to drop at least $50 to get a reasonable one. ONLY shop at kitchen stores that will let you cut, teach you how to sharpen & maintain. It is WORTH paying a lot extra for that service. Bring in a bag of carrots and cut them up. When I bought my 10" I julienned or minced 3 huge bags of carrots in the store. Shame I've never found one of those stores around here.
