RE: Knife sharpening stone.....
Jeff, find a set of Arkansas stones. ive tried them all. i even own a 5 stone lansky. never did like that thing.
my shop teacher taught us how to sharpen knives by hand. he had a set of Arkansas stones. i found a set and started using them. no joke i can probably split hair legnth wise...my buddy used my knife to gut his deer. i touched it up, though it was still plenty sharp. gutted my buck and skinned it, and did 2 rabbits yesterday..still dont NEED sharpened..but will still GET sharpened.
the way i do it is a set my angle, hold it the whole way through..start at the tip, draw away from me and back to me. flip over do the same. most guys go away from them than flip them over and draw back on the other side. i used to..it works, but my shop teacher in HS taught us to go up and back on the same side..boy does it work.
if you need info PM me...heck, i will take pics while i sharpen for you maybe tonight if you want. the knife will be getting sharpend here real soon..no problem for me to snap a couple pics for ya...easier to show than describe...
i just did a little searching. my set i use is a "smiths tri hone set" but i found a bunch of other makers..mine is older than dirt. it was one of my grandfathers that passed away and i found it in grandmas basement. the only smith's set i found is now plastic instead of the wood i have...but i found wood sets as well. the tri hone sets come with 3 stones. 2 are arkansas stones..one is a synthetic stone thats real course..its only use it BEAT UP knives...i start on soft arkansas and finish on the hard.