A razor-sharp kitchen knife is a disaster waiting to happen, I think. Unless you are a trained chef, it's too easy to get slightly careless when preparing dinner (and sampling the wine) and I've had what would normally be a minor nick turn into a gusher with a knife that was sharper than necessary. Common sense should prevail over dogma here.
I have a few Old Hickories in the kitchen, and they are made from good carbon steel the way they used to be. They are a real Bargain, IMO. Kinda old-fashioned shapes, however. The first kitchen knife I ever bought when I was in college was an Old Hickory. I still have it.
Hand America sells a very nice combo steel that is half super smooth, half micro-grooved. Works very nicely on a blade that already has a fairly fine, thin edge like from a Norton Fine India stone. Water-stones are great for wood workers who like to impress their friends with impossibly sharp plane irons. Very expensive and a pain to maintain, and not very useful in the kitchen- IMO.
Keep an eye open at flea markets, garage sales and re-sale shops for old sharpening steels. Old grungy ones can often be refurbished with SiC paper if not badly pitted by rust.
