I own a restaurant and I sharpen two knives every week using a whetstone, I'm not the best at it my angles are often uneven but I can get it sharp enough for me.
The problem is eventually I have to replace my knives because it takes so much effort to create a burr, I just end up throwing away the knives and buying new ones. I'm assuming the problem is because of the uneven edge.
Would the T1 fix this problem with new knives in the long run? I currently have the T1 and after spending an hour on trying to get that burr I gave up and I'm contemplating returning the t1 and going for the t4
I do not own a T1, but creating a burr should not be that much of a hassle if you use the sharpie trick to match your sharpening angle to the actual edge angle... and you did not make the edge uneven by sharpening it freehand.
I doubt however that sharpening your knives on a whetstone might have created that much of an uneven edge. If you're not careful with the angle at which you hold your knife when sharpening it, you will probably end up with a convex edge. To make it uneven yet sharp, you'd have to change your angle exactly the same way along each stroke.
With new knives, that shouldn't be an issue as long as you use the sharpie trick. You might experience a bit of variation in the tip area, but nothing that cannot be overcome.
In my opinion, if you need to sharpen two knives in a kitchen every week, the T4 is a bit of an overkill, it will require more of a learning curve than the T1, you will have to manage water, it will be much more expensive.
If I were in your shoes I'd try to see how the T1 works on new knives with the sharpie trick, and if I'm still not happy with the results I'd change course entirely and look at one of those small belt sanders that will get your knives sharp in a matter of seconds. You might want to be even more careful with steel dust than with the T1 though.