Time for me to write a novel....
In my illspent youth, I learned to sharpen. One day I was so proud of my abilities I spent a lazy afternoon sharpening all of mom's kitchen knives to the point where I was satisfied. Then as young teens often do, I forgot all about it. So mom was preparing supper and let out a terrible scream. Of course dad went running to see what happened. It didn't take him long to start yelling for and at me. Then we retired to the front stoop so he could destroy all my work. He wasn't as mad as I'd feared. He just pointed out that some people - my mother - were better off with dull knives. She had terrible cutting habits.
One of my good friends over the last 30+ years is related to sheriff Pat Garrett. The one who shot Billy the Kid. And his uncle was Jimmy Garrett, a long time Randall knife employee. His back step was poured by the uncle with one step really funny looking. It was/is smooth as glass almost. Yes, he mixed the concrete the way he wanted it. You rich folks use stones, he used concrete! And y'all feel so proud of your 8" stones. His is about 3 feet long!
His feeling is he doesn't need all 3 feet, but 2' of it makes a nice working surface.
And his method consisted of a glass of water (I understand he never drank the stuff). But he'd spill some on the step and start working. When he was done, you really didn't know he'd used a step. I wouldn't have wanted to enter a sharpness competition against him.
I acutally have a power knife grinding kit. Bought it 9 years ago. Its supposed to have a low speed motor and a wide stone. I'm not sure because I've never unpacked it or plugged it in....
If anyone gets around to buying the book "Razor Edge Sharpening" they make some pretty interesting claims. The authors are consultants to the meat packing industry. And they've examined a bunch of sharp knives. They advise against using a oil slurry. Their studies with a microscope reveal that the pieces of steel and stone that break off become an abrasive slurry that seems to rip pieces out of the edge. They advise to wash the stone, but don't use water or oil as a lubricant. They came to those conclusions by looking at thousands of knives and how they were sharpened. They can tell by looking at an edge how you sharpened it. And according to them, the best edges weren't sharpened with lubricant.
They also suggest the most productive and safest meat cutters are the ones who know how to sharpen their own knives. To them, no one else touches their edges.
My sharpmaker is in the basement, on the end of an old desk. Its only got the one stone mounted. Its like glass. Its set for my pocket knife. And when I walk past it, if I have time, I take a couple of strokes on each side. Its all it takes to bring it back to where I want it. My knife is at least 30 years old now, and it barely shows signs of having been sharpened. Its sharp as I want, but I don't over do the process. And I don't loan my knife to anyone, especially my own wife. Sometimes you can't deny your spouse so I just offer to cut whatever it is she needs. It annoys her, but I enjoy that part. I always offer to buy her another knife. She feels it easier to just borrow mine, or me and mine. She has no idea why I'm so anal about my stupid pocket knife. Except I've explained many times the way to lose a good knife is to loan it. It happened a few times and I was frantic trying to find where she left it. Not hers, no problem for her. After the last incident, where she left it on a picnic table, I stay with my knife.
And be aware that a wife isn't amused by you saying you'd rather loan her out than your knife. The thing is, someone else will be glad to return her...
The bad things said in this thread about stainless doesn't really apply to all stainless. But for the most part, a good carbon steel knife produced 50 or more years ago will take a better edge than anything with "China" stamped on it. All progress isn't good. Or at least in the right direction.
The older I get, the crankier I get. I can't find a 1930 Randall knife, but I have that vintage S&Ws and Winchesters. Best I can find is a 1940s knife, and it'll do. The darn sheath is kind of worn, however. Yes, its sharp.