Sir, FWIW, here's what I do. But first a couple things to bear in mind:
Sharpening a knife involves removing metal. This requires a certain amount of pressure and movement.
Getting a knife
really sharp is a multi-step process. If the knife is extremely dull, you may need to put a preliminary edge on with a file. Normally, though, you start out with fairly coarse (soft) stones, then progressively finer (harder) ones, and maybe even finish up with a leather strop. At the end, you're basically just polishing the edge. The pressure you exert also changes, from fairly firm (but not "white knuckle") on the soft stone, and getting lighter as you work though the hard stones and strop.
As you sharpen, it's important to keep a consistent edge angle, ideally the same as the edge angle the knife came with. Too shallow an angle relative to the stone means you're not touching the actual cutting edge; too steep an angle means you're blunting the cutting edge. Rocking back and forth between the two does both, and also leads to sharpening and sharpening and sharpening some more without ever actually getting the knife sharp.
Maintaining a consistent blade angle can be difficult, and that's what the various guides and "V" sticks and such were designed to address. They're not strictly necessary, but they do make it easier. If you don't have something like that, you can tell by feel on the stone whether you're keeping the right angle. If the angle gets too steep, you'll feel the effort increase and edge slow down or catch as it tries to "bite" into the stone. If the angle gets too shallow, it'll feel like a "slip" as the edge comes off the stone and it slides too far back on the bevel.
When whetting the blade on a stone, use plenty of oil and refresh it when it gets dirty. The oil is there to keep the stone from "loading up" with tiny metal shavings. (Remember, you're removing metal from the blade.) Once a stone is loaded up, it's next to useless for sharpening until it's been cleaned. You don't have to use oil
per se, either. I've seen good work done with soapy water as well. The main thing is to keep the stone wet so the shavings don't load up the stone.
There are different schools of thought about exactly how to move the blade on the stone. The traditional advice is to stroke the blade across the stone as if you're trying to cut a very thin slice off the top of the stone. I've had no luck whatsoever with that method.
I like to use a more or less circular motion, starting at the hilt end and working toward the tip. Usually I'll make one pass like that on one side of the blade, then turn it over and do the other side, alternating sides until I'm happy with the edge. If I want it sharper, I'll move on to a harder stone or strop. With the strop, you pull away from the cutting edge.
Some folks recommend a variation on the stropping technique using fine sandpaper backed with a phone book. I haven't tried this beyond just stropping, but some very knowledgeable people swear by it, mainly users of Bark River knives and others with convex edge grinds. A Google search for "convex edge sharpening" will turn up some good descriptions and even videos of the method. One such is
here.
Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.
Ron H.
I use Arkansas stones or Japanese water stones. It's all in the angle. I start off holding the knife at 90 degrees to the stone then lean it over to half of that [45 degrees] then half of that [22 1/2 degrees] then start to sharpen your knife on a soft stone one stroke at a time on each side until it's sharp. Then repeat on a hard stone. A hard stone will be good enough for most people. I would start with an old knife and practice till you get the hang of it. Also it's easier to sharpen a carbon steel knife than it is to sharpen a stainless knife. Just practice till you get it right. Don
