... I'm buying an Arkansans whet stone and I also ordered a Kershaw 1082 field knife in 14c28n. I was just wandering if that would be a good knife/steel to learn with. I would like to be moderately skilled in sharpening before I start buying D2, s30v, elmax etc.
1) While an Arkansas stone will work for 14C28N... D2, S30V, Elmax, etc. will laugh at your Arkansas stone. Wrong tool for the job. You need a better abrasive for the "higher end" (i.e.
abrasion-resistant) steels. SiC, diamond, or ceramic. For restoring a heavily (deeply) damaged edge, 220-grit or lower. For medium damage, ~400 grit. For edge-finishing, 800-grit is still quite toothy, 1200-grit is well-polished, and 2000-8000 grit is a high push-cutting mirror-finish. As a reference, my DMT hones include black, blue, red, & green, after which i strop on compound if a higher polish is desired. The DMT Double-sided DiaFolds are an easy way to acquire a portable (pocketable) sharpening system with multiple grits, and their Deluxe Magna-guide system works for quicker restoration at a selected angle on small knives (like that kershaw).
2) That Kershaw is
NOT a good knife to learn on. Due to the lack of a choil (notch at the heel of the blade), it will not come fully sharpened from the factory but will curve out into the ricasso at the plunge-line :thumbdn: To fix this I recommend a
curved hone. Another pocketable sharpening option is the Hewlett/Buck FlipStik or Flipstik Ultra, diamond-coated rods. The latter has multiple grits like the DMTs but has more trouble sharpening all the way to the choil unless there is sufficient space.
3) If you don't want to shell-out the $20-30 for a FlipStik or DMTs, you can get a Norton Crystolon combination stone for <$20 or some wet/dry SiC sandpaper and a block of wood for cheap. Check the here for more advice:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/794-Maintenance-Tinkering-amp-Embellishment