Sharpening is an art, some people can do it very well, others end up with butter knives. I recommend you use a Sharpmaker, Edge pro, Lansky System, or some other kind of system if you arn't very good at freehand. Also, if you want scary sharp knives you need to strop. With my arkansas stones or using Lansky stones freehand and my leather strop I can get blades to the point where hair will pop off my arm without the blade touching my skin. Brings a whole new meaning to "razor sharp" <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />