Lukus hit it on the nose...

One of my other addictions is traditional woodworking... My shop is filled with plate glass plates, diamond stones, jigs, grinding plates, oil stones, flattening plates, etc.

IMHO, for wood working tools, you can not beat waterstones for an ultra sharp edge. Norton makes phenomenal stones that are far more affordable than the natural Japanese or Belgian stones.

However, the beauty of waterstones is that they constantly reveal a fresh cutting surface, which allows for metal removal much more quickly than an oil stone. This same softness causes them to go out of flat much more quickly. As such, waterstones require regular flattening.

In the real world, I do not expect my field knives to carry the same edge as my fine chisels. As a matter of fact, I think it is is foolish and counterproductive. I expect my paring chisels to pare end-grain mahogany like a hot knife through butter. My mortise chisels are sharpened to 35 degrees and meant to be whacked with a hammer. You sharpen the tool to suit the work. I don't expect SAK to carry the same edge as my straight razor.

For field use, I carry a diamond hone, a fallkniven stone (diamond/ceramic) and small leather strop charged with green paste. Works well enough for me.

My $.02