Help setting an aspiring home cook on the right path

Welcome.

The threads out here that discuss knives are, to say the least, extensive.

They also contain, to a certain degree, a fair amount of repetitive info.

You may still get some direct, very informative responses from BDL and some other people who really know their stuff, But if I were you, I'd search through the information already out here as it's impressively expansive.

You could give Mark Richmond a call and see if he'll ship to Canada.  http://www.chefknivestogo.com/
 

Chad is well-known because he has a great intro book and has been generous with info on his website.  I think the written materials on sharpening is some of the best instruction available for kitchen knives (i.e., the book chapter and the online material are the same). I like videos, too, but I think the Ward chapter is pretty ideal to get all the background/theory before finding videos to learn.

His info is a bit limited and obviously not particularly updated for particular knives he recommends in the three or so price classes he discusses.

Chad Ward's Edge in the Kitchen is a wonderful book if you're seriously interested in knives, knife skills and knife maintenance.  That said, it's something of a "Coffee Table Book," and you get most of the important information for free on the net. 

Paul's Finest is great.  So is Paul.

The Misono UX-10 is a beautiful knife, but it's expensive and for several reasons is the not best choice for most people's first good knife.  The Misono Moly is an excellent entry into the low end of the good knife class.  It's got a bigger handle, but otherwise is not really any better than a Fujiwara FKM -- a very popular first good gyuto, which is less expensive than the Moly. 

The best choice at Paul's for you is probably the Sakai Takayuki Grand Cheff -- not any of the "damascus knives, but Grand Cheff only.

If you buy any of the knives you linked from Paul, you'll be getting a great knife from a great dealer.  But there are plenty of knives in this world, and you might like others more.  Worth taking a look and worth asking some questions. 

If you really like any of the knives at CKtG, call or email Mark at CKtG and find out what he can do about shipping to Canada.  You might want to take a look at JCK as well; they do very cheap shipping as well as creative custom valuation; a lot of Canadians buy from them. 

I strongly recommend 240mm (aka 9.5") over 210mm (aka 8") for your go to gyuto.  The little bit of time you take to learn the skills necessary to handle the longer knife will return years of efficiency. 

Finally -- what comes first -- There's no point in buying a good knife unless and until you have an equally good plan to keep it sharp.  Sharpening is everything.

BDL

The Sakai Takayuki Grand Cheff isn't particularly hard; its nominal 58RCH is the same Rockwell number as a modern Wusthof.  But "hardness" is a very complicated subject and unless you want a lot of information plus a lot of editorial... let's not go there.  On the other hand, if you do, we can. 

If you do decide to sharpen freehand on bench stones, what you want for the Grand Cheff (and most modern, high quality knives) is a decent set of synthetic water stones.  Ultimately you'll probably want a coarse stone for profile and repair; a medium/coarse stone for initial sharpening; and a medium/fine stone for final sharpening and light polishing.  

Since learning to sharpen is part of your personal equation and still assuming freehand + bench stones, you'll want to learn to sharpen with the medium/coarse stone first; then the medium/fine; and only try the coarse stone once you've become reasonably proficient with the medium/fine. 

But, it's important to consider that bench stones are not the only choice.  Although freehanding on stones is very versatile, and once you're good at it is also very efficient; other options might be better for you.  What's best?  It depends on your knives, your eventual plans, and your willingness to spend.