The best way to sharpen a knife is not to let it get dull. Trite, but true! And by that I mean, sharpening it after every use. I keep my hunting knifes shaving sharp with an ordinary sharpening steel. If they do get dull, then I have to work them on an Arkansas stone before I lay them to the steel. I've tried a bunch of sharpening devices, from Lansky's to variousV-shaped deals made from all sorts of materials. Some worked. Some flat didn't. Some where nightmarish in their complexity and process required. None of them work as quickly or as surely as routine, quick swiping on a steel.