Check out the FAQ section here, as there is a steel chart.
Each steel doesn't have its own hardness. Think of knives like cookies. The cookie dough is soft and musy before you bake it, right? Well, so is steel when we get it from a supplier. It is in an annealed state. THis makes it easy to work (read softer than our tools!). After making the piece of steel look like a knife, you send it to heat treat. When you put your cookies in the oven for 12 minutes at 350 F, they will come out at just the right harness. Ditto with steel. Knife blades fall in a 52-62ish Rockwell range. Generally speaking, the harder the steel, the longer it holds an edge, but the harder it is to sharpen and it is more brittle.
Kitchen knives are often heat treated to be softer, to facilitate sharpening. A softer boning knife is a good idea too, as impacts on bone are well, more than common!
Preferred sharpeners is another animal, and I have seen 3 threads started on that in the past week! Again, check out the sharpening FAQ here. Preference depends on your needs. Free handing is getting more popular. Some people who aren't makers are buying small belt sanders for sharpening, for the quickness of it and the convex edges that can be produced. The two most popular gizmo sharpeners are the Spyderco Sharpmaker and the Edge Pro sharpeners. Edge Pro folks always talk of scary sahrp, even, good looking bevels. Sharpmaker folks talk about how much of a no brainer it is to use the system, and it is fast. It is also cheaper and smaller and less messy than the Edge Pro.
I think the DMT Diafold is the winner as far as outdoor sharpeners. But your freehand skills had better be there.
I think a great "kit" to get is a coarse stone for re-profiling and a sharpmaker.
Sharpening for me has been more of an adventure in edges. I have had many systems and kits and stuff, and I keep learning and learning and learning...
