....Definitely would be frustrated if I dulled my edge due to inexperience.... Luckily i have held onto a few budget knives as my quality products have started to make their way in. That way I can learn on my lower end knives.
I like your plan to use the older, budget friendly knives to practice on. You'll find out though that some of the really cheap knives have steels that just won't take an edge at all (think NRA or Field & Stream gift knives). You can get them reasonably sharp, but they will never really sing. If you start with something in 1095 or an old pocket knife like an Old Timer or SAK or even a Mora you'll be able to recognize if it's the steel or you. I'd start with shorter blades so you can focus on maintaining the angle more easily.
As far as you feeling frustrated about dulling them, you shouldn't. All knives should be dulled. They should be well used. And if used, all knives will get dull. Stropping after or before use will help, but eventually, you're going to put a ding in the edge on a rock or even some sand that was stuck to a stick you were working on. When that happens, stropping may not be enough.
One of the easiest ways I've found to get started in sharpening is to use a guided system like the Lansky kit. They are pretty inexpensive (~$20-25) and really easy to use. You'll find you can learn a lot about sharpening by doing it this way and then graduate up to other ways you may like better later. Other guided systems on the forum are great, but can be pretty pricey. If you try the Lansky and decide you hate using a guide, you're only out $20 any your little brother gets an extra something on his birthday.
Some general (free) advice:
1) start with small blades. They are easier to control, generally cheaper, and don't take as long to get results as large blades do.
2) keep it simple. All you're trying to do when you sharpen is remove material (steel) with an abrasive (stone, sandpaper, rock, ceramic, whatever). Don't worry too much about microns or grit etc. Just get the sequence right: "this one, then this one, then this one."
3) The choice of abrasive isn't that big a deal. Diamond v ceramic v aluminum oxide etc, doesn't matter really. Diamond tends to go a bit faster and you don't have to use oil, but it is more expensive to start. I use the hones that I got when I bought my first kit years ago and they work fine on super steels and high carbons alike.
4) Realize that you'll use the course stone for >90% of the work of sharpening. It's job is to remove the material to get you down to the apex of the edge. It will likely take longer than you think to get there the first time you sharpen your knife. You'll know when you get there because a burr will form along the edge that will curl away from the stone. You're not to the edge if you haven't gotten a burr. The medium and fine and super fine and uber super fine etc stones are only there to polish the scratches made by the course hone and thereby refine the edge. The knife should already be very very sharp before you start employing the finer stones. They will take it from "very" to "scary" to "I'm not even sure this is legal anymore" sharp. If you use them before you've gotten the edge sharp with the course stone, you're just polishing the sides of a dull knife.
5) Don't worry about taking off too much material. I've been sharpening my SAK for 20 years this way and it's still got many years left in it. You've got to get down to the edge. That edge is at the bottom of the deepest nick or ding. If the whole edge is sharp except for that one spot where that bad nick was, then you've got to remove material until even that part is sharp again.
6) Take some time in the set up. The hones get attached to wires that run through holes in the clamp. It's important to get the wires on straight and get the clamp in the same place on the knife every time. Doing so makes it really fast and easy to get the same edge as last time on it. If you're inconsistent with the set up, you're angle will also be inconsistent and that will cost time. (You'll have just as sharp a finished product, but you'll have to remove more material to get the new angle down to the edge again). The clamp can also mar the finish (kind of nice for placement next time, but also unsightly). Use a bit of tape or cloth under the clamp and use landmarks on the blade to place the clamp consistently. Proper setup will be important with any guided system. We've all seen the time Guy invests in getting his setup right for the different runs. He does so because it saves time later.
7) lastly, don't be intimidated by it. It's like learning anything. It just takes practice. You'll succeed, and you'll fail. You'll take the angle too low and chip the edge out. No biggie; you'll just fix it. And you'll be able to fix it.
Learning to sharpen takes some time and practice, but it can also be very satisfying. It's rewarding to put a better edge on the knife than it came with. You can alter edge geometry to make a rotten knife great or a good knife better. You will also find yourself using your knives more because you know that when something happens to the edge, it's not a catastrophe, it normal, and not a big deal.
Good luck
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