Now I am a newbie so please don't yell at me too much if I have done no research to find that is topic has been brought up too many times.

I am not the best at sharpening (and that is like saying putting a mosque by ground zero is not the best idea) but I would like to hear from some of you what you use for stones and maybe a technique. To keep all my folders sharp I use a Lansky sharpening kit and actually it works great for blades up to about 4 inches. But for any of my larger fixed blades I have never got the best results with it.

I just want to know how to put a good sharp edge on a knife that I will use. I am a huge fan of my knives being sharp as we all are. I can worry about convex edges and all that later but is it the stones that matter, or am I not using a good angle, and how can you tell what is a good angle, and be able to make your strokes consistent? Stropping? Any tips or "secrets" would be awesome.

Maybe even if someone knows or a good book or video that they learned from would be great.

For longer blades you can just reposition the sharperner guide to a new spot on the blade and continue sharpening as norma. Personally I like Diamond and Ceramic "stones" they last forever and don't dish out like conventional stones will do. As for "the angle" I have just developed my own over many many years of freehand sharpening and can sharpen just by "feel" and by the "sound" the steel makes over the stone. But as "they' say, Practice Practice Practice.

Asking how to "best" sharpen of what is the best technique/angle to put on a blade is a questions you will never get one answer too. But I won't cop out with that answer. Here you go.

I agree with Skunk. I use diamond stones and follow it up with a ceramic rod when I want to shave. There are people out there that will tell you you have to have a perfect facet on the edge and some say a convex edge is best. I don't think it matters. I have gotten so sharp they'll slice atoms. Yes, I can split an atom with my pocket knife. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Strop are good too. I use a leather belt I were downrange I impregnated with some rubbing compound. But, I don't think the best utilitarian edge is always smooth. It depends on what you want to use it for. I think a slightly rougher edge (one that hasn't been polished to a mirror finish) is best for cutting ropes and what not. The little scratches from the stones work as a "micro" serration.

If you are having trouble getting your knives as sharp as you'd like, try making your edge more acute, but realize it won't last as long as a more obtuse edge. You need to find the angle that is right in the middle.

Again like Skunk, I just use sound and feel to get the edges the way I want.

There are a few sites and books out there dedicated to sharpening. A Google search should be easy. Learn about burs.

Experiments on Knife Sharpening
"The ability of a knife to easily cut a material is altered significantly if the cutting action is changed from a simple pushing action, as employed in shaving, to a back-and- forth sawing action, as employed with serrated knives. The bur formed by grinding stones does produce a rough edge on the microscale and may reduce the required cutting force for some sawing type cutting operations. However, the bur produces a substantial increase in the edge width and for cutting action involving a minimum of sawing motion the bur well be detrimental. The author is not aware of any study that has addressed this question of when, or if ever, a burred edge might be superior for cutting. This study has been directed at the best way to remove as-ground burs."
http://www.scribd.com/doc/10044505/Experiments-on-Knife-Sharpening-John-Verhoeven

Angle is the hardest part, I'm just now getting the hang of maintaining the angle that I want, which by my rough estimates appears to be around 18-20 degrees. I don't own a protractor so I can't tell for sure. As for the actual sharpening process, other than angles, I've seen several methods, and they all work, from running the blade across the stone in a slicing motion, which works well on a very fine grit diamond stone to get a shaving sharp edge, to running the blade away from the cutting edge across the stone. I saw a youtube video last night where the gentleman, holding the knife pointing away from him, drew the knife toward him 1st to sharpen out to the tip of the knife, then in an s-motion across the strop, pushed the blade away from him to get the rest of the blade. I would start on youtube for a few ideas, just search for knife sharpening, and then take what ideas work best for you. Also, I'd start sharpening with a cheaper knife, so you can keep your good ones from being chewed up.

Stop thinking about angles, it only makes things harder on yourself. There is NO correct angle only a correct shape for the blade geometry and steel quality. Learning what is best for each blade will be a life long experience, trust me, after 20 years of sharpening i'm still working on "what angle?"

Holding a correct and consistent angle is much easier than most think. Buy a mora knife and practice on a bench stone and feel out the movements needed to sharpen the whole bevel in a single pass. This will give you more useful information than pages and pages of text could ever do.

There is also specific points of pressure you can apply that will make the knife guide itself on its proper curve and held angle. I can give a link later to a thread that explains it better if you would like.

For todays modern super alloys its hard to beat diamond sharpening equipment. For your busskin and like carbon steel blades its hard to beat a big Norton coarse/fine and some sandpaper.

Also, different steels respond in different ways to various types of abrasive media. For example: Ceramics work best on stainless steels, diamond on very hard alloys, water stones natural stones and sandpaper on carbon steels. There is much more to it than that but it gives u a idea.