I'm very happy with my Spyderco Sharpmaker. Now they even have an Ultra fine ceramic stone available.

Just to add some variety to your life, you could also consider the Lansky system (I would suggest the kit with diamond hones). You can also put on convex edge on a blade using nothing more than an old mouse pad sitting on a hard surface, with various grits of wet-dry sandpaper on top. Unlike most sharpening, where you draw the edge of the blade onto the stone or whatever, with this way of doing things you pull the edge of the blade across the sandpaper. You don't have to worry much about maintaining a proper angle, the flex in the mousepad pretty much takes care of that for you.

I carry one of the pencil sized diamond coated rods in my Leatherman belt pouch, with that I can put a usable edge on a blade in seconds...

"The caveat is once a knife is properly sharpened a ceramic or steel will often restore an edge."

Is this just to knock off the wire?

Biscuits

Hopefully there isn't a wire in the first place. From what I understand the steel (or ceramic rod) essentially straightens a "bent" edge"

I've always pictured the fins on a radiator. If you hit them they bend, but I can easily picture running a rod or stick along them to straighten them out.

'Steeling' a knife removes 'waves' as KenK stated. There is a caveat with ceramic rods. If your knife has a high rockwell 59-62 it will chip the edge, much like pressure flaking lithic materials.

No, if a wire edge is present, steeling may knock some of it off, but that's not its purpose. More than likely, steeling will just keep moving most of the wire edge from side-to-side as you steel. Steeling helps straighten an edge which will leave it, generaly speaking, sharp again for a short period of use.

A ceramic will sharpen an edge, unless you are using the ceramic rod at too steep an angle, and at a fast pace as chefs are known to do (every watch a chef steel one of his knives? Scary stuff). Using a ceramic rod is no different than using the Spyderco Sharpmaker. The rod is an abrasive and running the edge down it will remove steel... a process we call "sharpening". Once again, though, this is assuming you use the rod correctly. Using it at the incorrect angle, incorrect pressure, and contacting the knife to the rod incorrectly will (or can) chip or otherwise damage the edge.

Oldsoldier,
I noticed reading the posts that your Mora has a convex sharpened edge. You can't do that on a Sharpmaker that I and others were recommending. However:......


Cliff Stamp has a different view on convex edge sharpening. Alot of things I've read people have said that a convex edge is the perfect geometry for a super-sharp edge. Stamp recommends not worrying about it, and he seems pretty confident about it. He says to go shead and take a convex edge to a benchstone or Sharpmaker, et al, and not worry about "rolling" the edge.

I can;t vouch for that for two reasons:1) I'm not anywhere near an expert at sharpening, and 2) I don;t own any convex ground knives (though I;ve got my eye on a couple of Bark River minis). But it's worth taking into account because you mentioned you'd like to get/keep a nice edge on your knife.

I love a razor sharp blade but there are times that a razors edge is not always the best way to go. I have several knives not all are sharpened to the same degree or angle. A good damascus knife won't shave but it will hold a good edge through skinning several deers

I love my short ceramic set with corse and fine sticks that can be held at two different angles, made by Lanskey and can be picked up at academy sports for about 12.00

Thanks,
I'm trying to keep from over sharpening.

Biscuits