Very late to enter this thread, but over several years I have put together a small collection of old high carbon knives.
These darkly mottled ugly wooden-handled knives, often mis-shapen from use, can be sharpened on good novaculite (genuine Arkansas) stones, and from then on may be kept in good form by use of a steel.
Most went to the dump years ago, but sometimes one may be found in the poorest of junk shops. Cost- nothing to a dollar or so.

A few years ago, a Canadian company called Lee Valley found a small cache of unused knives of this kind in a warehouse in France. Only two sizes, but excellent! I wish I had bought more to give as presents.