Sharpening damaged knives.

[Woody]

Main issue:
I've started sharpening the knives at home but some of them are in such horrific condition I'm finding it really difficult. I have a couple of knives that I keep seperately and they are in excellent condition but the ones my parents and siblings use regularly are chipped badly and totally blunt. They began life a couple of years ago as a middle of the range knife block set but since then have only had touch ups from the steel that came with them - leaving marks all over the place from shonky technique. I know they can hold an edge if I manage to put one on there and keep everyone else away from the horrible steel they came with.

I have a shun 1000/6000 which is all I use for my knives but I got some 260 grit wet/dry to start the crap ones. Even that doesn't seem to be enough though. I gave up trying to get rid of all the nicks and just finished the chef's knife I was working on yesterday which left it vastly better than when I started but it has still got a lot of small chips near the heel and a couple in other places. How do I get rid of them? Is it just patience and a lot of repetition? Can I use some even coarser paper? We do have a bench grinder but I am worried about damaging any tempering in the blades. They are pretty cheap and I'd only be doing a bit but it just doesn't strike me as the best option.

Has anyone had experience with knives like this?

My other question is:
I got my first knife before I knew much about blades and the shopkeeper highly recommended a ceramic "steel". I have absolutely no idea what sort of grit this is (feel quite smooth) and was wondering whether it is worth using this regularly or whether I should just touch them up on the 6000 side of my stone more often? It did a good job of maintaining the edge before I got my stone but I'm not sure if I'm undoing all my work with the fine side if I use them together.

[ouch]

For damaged knives, I'd suggest contacting member Dave Martell. He's a guru when it comes to these matters.
http://japaneseknifesharpening.com/