Digi, Welcome to the Yard my friend!

I think the rest of the dogs jumped on it and answered your questions pretty well. If I may interject, another option for you for sharpening that you may consider is paper sharpening wheels and an inexpensive bench grinder (although don't shirk learning how to sharpen on a stone, that's a skill that will serve you well the rest of your life!)

These are similar to what I purchased a few years ago: http://www.sharpeningwheels.com/new/

I dropped 35$ on a HF bench grinder and I think the wheels were 65$. After some practice, and turning a few butter knives into shaving razors, I was able to put a shave ready edge on a piece of steel nearly 1/2" thick with a 50` bevel... No joke. (it was then I learned that it's not about the degrees of the bevel, it's making the two bevels meet that makes a blade sharp.)

I think a few of the dogs also use a belt sander with high grit belts. All are great options to get your blades stupidly sharp. Just a couple suggestions for when the wallet permits

I would recommend getting alot of experience on a stone first though. It's saved my butt more than once having a small arkansas stone and an abundance of saliva when my knife simply wouldn't perform anymore. Usually those times are when I can't get to my bench grinder because I'm at a military school. In a pinch, that's all you'll ever need.