-I've used a benchstone freehand on an opinel-knife, seemed to work out great, really really sharp, but on higher end knifes in harder steels like VG-10 I does not work at all. Seems to me that freehand/benchstone is super if you master it but to me, well... it's just to hard (to many people...).
-Perhaps here (on this forum) or
www.knifeforums.com you can find someone who can show you the ropes in sharpening, why not a local gunshop?
-Spyderco "204" Sharpmaker is good, some say the optional diamond rods for the "204" can make it more aggressive. Check out the following thread for the Spyderco, standard it offers only three sharpening angles. That really should be enough but hey...
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=1887293#post1887293. The Edgepro (Apex or Pro) is also widely hailed. Both systems "give you a real sharpening hand" ;-).
-Ask at a gunshop or a friend/forumite where you can have your knifes sharpened the right way. Normally it should not take as long as shipping it back to the manufacturer... Perhaps you can even take a look
-Buy hard-wear knives in steels that hold their edge long (beware: those steels are hell to sharpen when they finally need to). Some examples: S90V, CPM9V, CPM10V, CPM15V (with the last three, the higher the number the higher your wear resistance, last tree are not stainless). Take a look at
www.crucible.com.
-Depending on your needs a serreated edge (Spyderco with their SpyderEdge...) can help, The serrations must be sharpened patiently, one bye one, so ounce they need maintenance, you'll have to give it some time.
-Some knive-edges are standardly coated with a highwear coating, to protect the edge. I even believe you can send or bring your knives to several companies that do it on older knives. Beware: you have to get through the coating yourself if you want to touch up the edge, Ideally the coating company should sharpen your knife before recoating it when you find it is dulled down. Try Bodycote.
-Use the right blade for the right job... grind, blade-form, size, finish... determine how good your knife will perform.
-If you cut something that lies on a surface, try to use a soft surface like wood or so. Don't cut an apple on a steel worktop. Investigate what your will be cutting for hard objects like nails, staples...
-Corrosion-protection is especially suited for the edge.
-I believe that most serious manufacturers will touch up your knife, not only the edge but also removing scratches, checking the lock and such...
-the high-end ceramic blades stay sharp veryyyyyyyyyyyy long when not abused. Newer and better ceramic materials are on the market. Blade will not rust however some are that brittle that if you just drop them they break like glass (don't even think about prying or hammering...). I'm not sure but most of these knifes you can NOT sharpen yourself (I hear newer materials allow this anyway). If it ounce should get dull you must hand it over to a specialist/manufacterer. I myself have a gorgeous Boker, ceramic blade and titanium handle, it is very dressy and light and it serves well for light use.
-The is a book or video or something like that named "RazorEdge" (not sure). Anyway, it is conceived as a must for sharpening. Personally, I do not care that much for supersharp "razorblades"... If supersharp was that good then why don't we all just carry a barber-style plain old razor...?
-Sharpening hints are availabale throughout the Net...
www.knifecenter.com is a good help.
-Kives require regular maintenance like cleaning and lubricating but also sharpening, do not wait to sharpen your knife untill it's too dull because then it's even harder.
-If their is something you don't know or you're in doubt, ask for help (... over here...).
I not much of a sharpener myself but collectioning/using knifes without sharpening just is not the same. (I once asked some custom makers if they could make a CPM15V serrated blade with a boron-nitride edge-coating *lol* but the ones I asked declined my request.)
Good luck!
