Great advice from all. If you want to try something new & relativly cheap: go to harbor frieght while it is on sale-& don't forget your 20% off coupon from any magazine, & get a 1" x 30" belt sander & some belts. Mine was about $32. Then look online for some finer belts from a knife supply store. I got a 400, 600, 1200 grit & a leather belt for stropping. I have not had the time or the balls to start right out on my Beckers. I will learn on some of my cheaper/don't care if i use em for practice, blades. I did take one that my buddy found while hunting. It looked as if it had been out there 100 years. I did not think it could even be saved. He de-rusted it & gave it to me. There were deep pits that went past the edge & into the meat (probably not proper words) of the blade. He stood in my back hallway while i had a go at it. In less than 20 min, it would shave through a piece of computer paper like a hot knife through butter. I gave it back to him & he shaved the grizzly bear hair off his arm with ease. I took my time, went slow & took as little off each time as i could & rinsed it under cold water after each pass. I suspect the edge was convexed because i did it on the portion that was not supported & had no backing. The knife blade made the belt bend in a little. All i know is he was tickled pink that i saved it & it looked like it was supposed to. Could'nt even tell it had been badly damaged. He said he gutted/skinned & cut up his deer with it & it still seemed plenty sharp. This seems to have the potential to make me lazy in my "by hand" sharpening skills, but it sure is fast & gets good results.
), freehand is a great way too.
