Way to go, Embeth!! I guarantee you, the more effort you give to learning this skill, the more thrilled you'll be down the road...
I started 'accumulating' knives because I was always (almost, anyway) dissatisfied with the factory edge on whatever knife I happened to use or carry at the moment. Then, I started accumulating different sharpeners (ceramic rods, Sharpmaker, Lansky kit, strops, etc.). For a long time, I relied on using a 'double stuff' ceramic pocket stone from Spyderco. Got pretty good at freehand touch-ups with that. Then, I finally dug my Lansky system back out of storage and gave it a second effort. Finally found a comfortable bench setup for using it, and what seems to me to be a bullet-proof combination of stones. Started with a diamond hone, followed by two, progressively finer, ceramic stones. Finished off with a strop. To test my skill with this setup, I purchased a couple of inexpensive, used Ka-bar folders on eBay (bought a Ka-bar 1179 and 1199 as a pair for about $30.00 with shipping). The 1179 had obviously been used and sharpened (not very well), and the 1199 still had what appeared to be it's 'factory' edge. It was decent, but nothing to get excited about. Since I hadn't spent too much $$ on these, I felt brave enough to completely re-bevel and sharpen both knives with the Lansky setup. I was absolutely STUNNED at the finished result. It was something of an epiphany to find out that even a relatively 'cheap' knife, from a reputable maker using decent quality steel, can be made WICKED, SCARY sharp with a little time invested. It's the best feeling I've had since my knife habit was born.
I don't worry too much anymore about the factory edge on a new knife. I finally feel comfortable that, if I don't like the edge it came with, I'll just make my own. And it'll be exactly what I want...
It's a GREAT FEELING to have a new SKILL to go with my knife collection!!
