I've always used a tri-stone with honing oil, followed by a steel. My understanding, through reading my granddad's old knife making books is the stones are for making the bevel, and the steel is for straightening the edge. I can get my kitchen knives, hunting knives, and pocket knife sharp, but not shave your arm hair sharp.

I quit carrying a Moore Maker a few months ago. Working outside all the time means I sweat, and the knife rusts, even with much attention given to it. I went back to my good ole Case XX stainless. And that blade is just plain hard. I can't get it as sharp as the Moore Maker, no surprise there, and I think my stones have ran their course. I've had the tri-stone for about 15 years. I just think it's got too much steel build up now.

I've entertained the expensive "Wicked Edge" system, switching to diamond hones, or even a Lansky. But I just can't make up my mind.

Oh, and I make a few knives from repurposed leave springs and grain drill discs, and give them away as Christmas gifts, so I'd like to get them sharper than I have been.

Warthog!!!

Diamond stones (plates). I just thought I knew how to sharpen edges, until I went to a woodworking school for a short time. Sharpening chisels and plane blades was tough for me until I was shown how it didn't have to be so tough. Get a medium grit diamond stone and a 'very fine' diamond stone and a leather strop. Get the basic edge with the medium and be sure you don't leave a wire edge, go to the very fine and take the edge to the next level (with no wire edge) and then use the leather strop (with jewelers rouge on the leather), making backward strokes on the leather. Trust me, with a little practice you can have an edge so sharp that it'll scare you.

Sandpaper, look up the scary sharpening system.

Sandpaper works fine, but to me is just too much trouble. I drag out my old USMC ammo can, pull out the diamond stones and use them. Then I wash them off with soap and water, dry them and put them back in the ammo can. Fast, and the diamond plates never wear out (not yet anyway, and it's been maybe 10 years).

And I carry some small diamond plates in my possible bag and use them when I need to sharpen in the field. I use my KaBar scabbard as the leather strop.

I've got some diamond plates. Think I'll use them a bit more, and see how it goes.

All you need are the medium and the very fine (1200 grit), but you do need those two for fastest and most efficient sharpening, then the leather with jeweler's rouge. The jeweler's rouge I use is, I believe, about 8000 grit, so it just puts that final polish on the edge and removes any small wire edge left.

Try a Spyderco Sharpmaker. They put a shaving sharp edge on all my knives.

Mitch

Sharpen on a wet stone and finish with broad head sharpener.

I use a Sharpmaker. It's easy and all my knives shave hair. I also like the Warthog. A friend has that and uses it. It works pretty well. But I still enjoy using my Sharpmaker. I bought the diamond and ultra fine rods for it. It covers all the bases for me.

Lanskys work even on ultra hard steel but they are a pain to use..

The Warthogs are being distributed by a guy I know, need to see about getting one.

I need to look up the Sharpmaker

I have had great success with the work sharp tool and knife sharpener. It's a small belt driven system with different grits. It can put an amazing edge on a blade in no time.

I really like my Warthog. Very easy to use and makes me keep all the knives around the house sharp all the time.

On occassion, I may play with a stone but I think the Warthog is 95% as good with 5% of the effort.

X2 This thing is so easy, even an old Aggie like me can make it work.

if you have time, read the sharpening bible. You really do only need a rough and fine grit stone. DON'T use oil or water on your stones - they work great dry if you can practice. The oils hold steel grit and create a ragged edge and over time will actually damage your edge. I'll be publishing an article soon and will try to remember to share after it's completed. Just keep consistent angles and know that your current knife may not have a good ground on it creating a 2nd edge that needs to be flattened out with rough grit first. Once you feel the edge "roll" over, move to your fine grit and you should be able to get to shaving sharp without even going to the leather strop.

fjg, why don't you just clean
the stones you already own?
a little comet powder and warm
water and a bristle brush and
they'll be good as new with a little
work and you don't have to buy anything
and you already know how to use them.

knfguy is right, but don't use the old Arkansas type stones. I used to use those, and I have a set of 3 really high dollar large stones that I once used for sharpening woodworking irons and knives. They worked Ok though they removed steel slowly, but when I saw what the diamond stones would do, the old stones are now tucked away in my workshop. The diamond stones won't hold steel swarf to pack up the cutting surface, and don't need any lubricant like oil or even water. They remove steel very fast and they stay flat forever and you clean them up in seconds with soap and water and put them away. If anyone wants to stay with the old type Hard Arkansas stones, I'll sell them a full set of top of the line stones. I have my diamond plates and I doubt I'll ever drag the old stones off the shelves.

I really dislike sharpening all the woodworking blades (handplane blades and chisels), particularly the new A2 type hard steel. They stay sharp a long time, but they are tougher to sharpen. Anything that works fast and is an improvement over the old type stones or the Japanese Water Stones is just what I need. It's the diamond plates. Trust me on that. Of course you will still need to know how to sharpen a knife. The diamond plates won't fix bad technique.

Pm me if you want the old stones. I'll make you a decent price. I don't want them anymore. Old technology.

To really sharpen a flat blade knife well, use a sharpening stone. It is always suggested to sharpen the knife with a wet stone. For touch-ups you can use a fine grit stone. If the blade is really dull, use the coarse grit stone first, then switch to a fine grit stone.

I think they're so built up with steel that they're done. Like I said earlier, I can get a Moore Maker scary sharp, but they aren't very hard. I can't seem to get my Case as sharp. Stainless blade, and it's pretty hard. I've been carrying a pocket knife and sharpening for 20 years. Maybe my technique still isn't perfect.

If you want a scary sharp knife there is truely on way and that's to strop it.

How you get to the point before the strop is up to you. I like warthog, fast and smiple.

Grab my strop, I use the white soap, then green and I'm done

I'll just reiterate - do not do as above and use a wetstone or oil, it truly is a good way to ruin a nice blade - if it's just a working knife you plan to replace anyhow, then it won't matter.

Yep! I admit to being a total failure with stones, ceramics, etc., but the Worksharp tool and knife sharpener has made it way too easy to achieve/maintain scalpel-sharp blades. Works great on machetes, hoes, and shovels too.

wicked edge, expensive but the best you'll get

Lansky with diamond stones. No problem getting a razor edge. My little Case XXX has two blades, one is always razor sharp.

I use a Lansky but want one of these:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/DAREX-WORK-SHARP-KEN-ONION-SHARPENER-BELTS/1641567.uts#BVRRWidgetID