Quote Originally Posted by 4Shore View Post
I have become obsessed with sharpening in the last 2 years. I do freehand all of my knives once a consistant bevel has been created. My preference of stone is a Norton type double sided stone with 200 on one side and 800 on the other. I bought it for $8.00 at a mall kitchen outlet store. What I love about it is that it is 10"x4"x2"! Once I have created my primary bevel, I take it to a fine diamond bench hone or for that gleaming edge, I have a translucent arkansas.
Some advice for a newbie would be to log on to John Juranich's web site (google it), and order his book for $20.00. It has the simplest, yet most fundamentally sound instructions in my opinion. He walks you through every aspect of edge geometry using illustrations and terms men can understatnd. He is also really good at what he does.
I have purchased his Razor's Edge Guide, and it was a wonderful tool for training my eyes and hands what a proper sharpening motion should be.
Thanks for the info. That is exactly what I was looking for... a source for instruction. I looked up John Juranitch, and found what appears to be his website at: www.razoredgesystems.com

On Amazon I looked up his book, The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening, and found recommendations for another book: The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. After reading several reviews of each, I think I'll get both.