I'm no sharpening pro, but I have to say that my smaller knives absolutely love a translucent Arkansas stone followed by a leather strop. I could get scary-sharp with a combo stone (as in I have to label the kitchen knives after sharpening so my wife doesn't remove a finger), but the translucent stone makes them literally shaving-sharp.

Thanks Everyone!! I usually do a good job keeping my blades sharp. With what I've learned here I should be able to do an excellent job. Please keep the information coming.

PS: any suggestions on where to get a good strop?

For $0.99 plus shipping you can purchase a ceramic rod from Smokey Mountain Knifeworks. I keep several around, in the kitchen, in my tool box, and even one in the living room. For years I used them as though I was slicing into the rod. Then I read Jerry Busse's recommendation for sharpening INFI. He moves the rod AWAY from the edge. I tried it on my FBM. It made it shaving sharp with no stropping. I tried the same technique on 1095 and SR77. Guess what? It works great. Here's the link. http://www.bussecombat.com/infi/index.shtml This is easy once you get the angle right. Use light pressure. This is really fast and easy, and Jerry admits he is "hand sharpening challenged", so anyone can do it. This is easier than any flat stone method, and it saves you some steel in the long run. Whenever I need to "touch up" an edge on ANY knife, this is the method I now use and I am very pleased with my results. Hope this helps.