Knife sharpening is a controversial subject

   
    Whether you have bought your own knife for practical purposes, have been given a knife set as a gift, or have been so fortunate as to receive a promotional knife or promotional knives set for being a valued customer, you are going to want to sharpen it or them. Most knives, even the multi-function Swiss army type, or other functional tool or camping knives, have some blades that will need sharpening.Knife sharpening is a controversial subject. You might not think so, but check around in the knife aficionado world and you will find out it is so. The battle rages over what type of stone to use, wet or dry, and which way to move the knife. Then there is if wet, what type of wet, water or oil. And there is the angle to consider.Folks on those times utilize these devices  It is all very technical.The coarse stoneFor practical purposes and ordinary knife users, here is a simple and reasonable method. You want a stone that is a good size for the knife you want to sharpen. Obviously a large kitchen knife will need a larger stone.
   
     The stone needs to be long enough that you can sweep the blade across it, the full length of the blade, without running out of stone or slicing something vital off. Then, if you want to use something wet, you can use oil or water. I have used oil, but now I just use water. It is handy and seems to work fine. If you have a considerable collection of knives to work through, you might want to invest in one of those nicely mounted sharpening stones that rest on a stable base. Or you can use the two sided coarse and fine kind you get at the hardware store. Those have kept my pocket, hunting, fishing, and kitchen knives sharp for many years.The angleThe angle is important, and you can read up on that. But ten to thirty degrees seems to be the popular recommendation. I shoot for about fifteen degrees when sharpening my knives. That makes a fine sharp edge that will hold up well enough for ordinary kitchen and fishing work. With the stone securely resting on a level surface, you draw or sweep the blade across the stone, keeping the angle constant. You can use the sweep away method, in which you move the knife blade in the opposite way that you would if you were trying to slice a thin layer off the stone. That sounds safer, and some say it is better for the blade and the stone.