We develop our knives for field use, before they are shipped the final sharpening is done on a Norton Fine India stone. This produces an edge with a 320 grit finish. You will be able to dress the edge up easily with a sharpening steel for some time, when this no longer returns the blade to its origonal sharpness, go to a Norton fine india stone, or 320 grit sandpaper on a hard smooth surface. I lubricate the stone with kerosene, its is cheap and works very well.
Place the blade on the stone and raise the spine until the edge is biting into the stone, like you were trying to shave a postage from the surface of the stone. Hone the edge until you have developed a wire edge on the blade, then using only the weight of the blade increase the angle and whipe the wire edge off. You now have the keenest edge that steel can support.
My favorite commercial rust preventative at this time comes from Sentury Solutions, their Marine Tough Cloth is as good as it gets. When I use a knife in the field, and the blade gets wet, I simply dry the blade, then rub a little human natural oil off of the side of my nose with my finger then rub it on the blade. Your blade will not self destruct with rust unless you are very careless, use and treat the knife just like you would a fine firearm.
If your knife has a sheep horn handle, the natural oil from your hand will keep the handle in good shape. If you want to use something else, Extra Virgin Olive oil (the greek oil seems best) or tree wax with canaruba is also great.
The most important part is to use the knife and enjoy it.
Thanks for your conficence in our work, and take care.
