Mud Turtle: i think you would be best advised to contact The Razor Sharp Company, in Ely, Minn. They have an 800 number that you can get from 800 information. 1-800-555-1212. Order their book, and they will send you a catalogue of their products. They produce two sizes of blade clamps that are used to maintain the bevels on your edges when you use a stone or paper glued to a board to sharpen your knife. They sell the paper and boards, but you can probably make your own cheaper.
I use Honing stones. The first bevel is put on the blade using a Washita, or medium grade arkansas stone. I use Liquid Wrench to lubricate the stone because it not only is a lubricating oil, but it contains oxydizers to dissolve the bits of steel that clog the stone's surface as you remove the metal from the edge of your knife. This allows the steel bits to " float " in the oil, where i can wipe them off the stone with a rag or paper towel.
I put a fine bevel on the edge on each side, working up a burr on the edge before flipping the knife over and doing the other side the same way. You do have to learn to be a bit ambidextrous to do this free hand, and that is why I am recommending you buy the blade clamps. One is for pocket knives, and the other is for longer blades. I wish they made a bigger clamp to use on blades over 6 inches long, because its a pain to try to hold the edge with even their large clamp on such a long blade. Both use allen screws to hold the clamps to the knife, and these do a better job of holding than anything else on the market.
When I have that final burr worked up on the second side of the knife, I clean out my stone, put a new coat of Liquid Wrench on it to soak, and put the stone aside. Maintaining your stones is the secret of getting a long life out of them, Using every part of the stone is the second thing YOU HAVE TO DO, to keep the surface flat. I begin my strokes at one corner of the stone, and drag the edge across the stone so that it goes the length of the stone to the opposite corner. I turn the stone around and then do the same thing from the other two corners.
I move the clamps forward to raise, or increase the angle of the bevel, before turning to my Hard Arkansas stone. Mine is about 13 inches long, and almost 3 inches wide. I use it bare. The strokes are the same as with my washita, from corner to opposite corner, and turn the stone around to wear the stone evenly. I always count the stroke, so I don't work one side of the blade more than the other. That is how you keep the edge both sharp and Straight! I work up a new, much smaller burr on both sides of the knife blade. Check it in the light, ( use natural or incadescent light, NEVER flourescent light to examine the edge!), and then check it by drawing the knife's edge slowly over your thumb nail. It should feel " bumpy" and ragged.
The next step is an edge maker, or killer. If you don't do it the knife will actually be set up to dull quicker in use.
Use an old belt or other piece of leather to strop the blade. When you are sharpening the edge, you cut into the stone as if you were slicing off a piece of the stone. When stropping you draw the edge BACK across the strop, as if you are wiping water off the blade, and wanting to make sure there is nothing still sticking to the edge. So, the wiping action is from the back of the blade to the edge. The first strokes will remove all the burrs, and leave a light gray line on the leather. You can wipe it off, or just leave it there. Continue to strop the edge to polish and burnish it. About 8-10 strokes per side is all that you need to get a razor's edge, if you did everything else correctly.
By doing a double beveled edge, rather than the single bevel so common on factory produced blades, the edge is supported, giving it great strength. By stropping the edge to remove that final burr, you get a smooth edge that is solid( check it in the light to see the difference) with no nicks, cuts, cracks, or bends in it. You can slice through meat with almost no resistance at all.
The Edge will hold up as long as you don't hit hard objects and nick or crack, or chip that edge. So take care of that tool.
Oh, when I am done with my hard arkansas stone, I wash the surface with my liguid wrench and use my fingers and hands to push the liquid into the surface to begin eating those little bits of steel that are shining back at me. I set the stone aside for the chemical oxidizers to do their thing, while I now clean my washita stone, which has been soaking while I used my hard( fine ) arkansas stone and my strop. ( I use an old belt, that I loop over a door knob, and then pull towards me with my dominant hand, while I strop the knife back and forth with my non-dominant hand. Because I am pressing down on the belt with some force, I tend to lean back to put my weight behind my strong hand pulling the belt.
Stropping is occasionally still seen being done in barber shops, but mostly by the older barbers. The young guys now buy cheap, disposable straight razors, and don't bother learning how to, much less use a strop to maintain the edge. They throw the old ones out and pull a new one out of their drawer.YOu can still buy barber's strops at barber supply shots, but they really aren't necessary for sharpening your knife. My old belts have been drafted for this final workout for years, and are still going strong. My current belt is about 30 years old. I may have to put some neatsfoot oil on it some time, but its working fine as a strop.
I usually let the Liquid Wrench work for a couple of hours, before I wipe down the hard stone. If there is still steel shining back at me, I repply liquid wrench and let the stone sit. Sometimes it sits overnight, but eventually I will remove all the bits from the stone and it will look like new. I dry it and return it to its wooden box, and store it for the next use. People always marvel at the length and width of the stones I own and use, until they see how quickly I can put an edge on their knife blades. Roger Needham has been selling stones at Friendship for many years. He also has out a 2 page sheet with directions on sharpening knives using honing stones. He published that information in Muzzle Blasts a couple of years ago, too. Its the same info I have just given you. If you can't find Liquid Wrench in your harware store, buy some Break Free, or any of the other oils that are sold for loosening rusted bolts and screws, like Kroil. They all work. If you can't get these, then at least use kerosene( motor fuel) to wash your stones. Because of the kerosene, there is a bit of odor to these products, so pick your spot for sharpening knives with some consideration to how the rest of the household is going to want to smell kerosene fumes in the house.
