>>1214600>quality kitchen knives>shun Now I'm not saying they aren't quality, they are, I sharpen them all the time for customers, but really they are not high end enough to really warrant sending them to the maker for sharpening. Especially since with enough practice, or a local skilled knife sharpener, you can get a SIGNIFICANTLY better edge than you will get from the KIA factory. And honestly maybe for cheaper, and much faster.
Heck even some really high end stuff like a custom Bob Kramer, he will sharpen a knife to just about as good as it can possibly get, but still it maybe not worth sending it all the way to him if you are willing to get your own set up, or have a good local guy do it just as well.
IMO, learning to be good at sharpening should be a part of the cooking experience if you are in it enough to spend $500+ on a knife block. And I say this as a guy who makes a lot of money off of professional chefs in my area, I'm surprised how many of them don't do it them selves.
