As others have said: Learn to sharpen your knives, whatever the quality, using multiple grades of grit. In a general purpose kitchen knife 22 degrees of edge works really well. To achieve that, stand the knife upright on the stone, there's 90 degrees; lay the knife over half way to perpendicular, there's 45 degrees; halfway over again gets you 22 degrees. Now take long, steady strokes in one direction, reverse and repeat. Lots on instructions are on the net providing details.

I prefer high carbon steel for the edge I can put on it, as I can maintain the knife and not worry about rust.

It's hard to beat the Wusthof Professional series, in my opinoin.

And don't let your knives near the dishwasher, it's bad for the handle and the blade.

D