What is the best way to sharpen a knife?

I own a lot of fancy sharpeners, but this is the one that I use the most.

Portable Whetstone

You still need some amount of technique. My own technique is sloppy, so I tried to make up for it by getting expensive sharpeners. Yet this thing gives me the best results and is portable and affordable.

I pick up my pen, er, keyboard, with great respect Douglas.  
I envision all the time spent with tools , and also machinery, that results in your skill level.  Sharpening by hand with your degree of exactitude is world class. As my Scottish cousin might say I am gobsmacked.

This classic skill is why I try my best to guide our teenager toward handiwork.... be it tending the garden or using an old miter box or splitting wood.  I am no expert , but have aspirations to at least be proficient.

Here's an example of my boy Hugh's work from 4th grade

Let's see if I can attach correctly this time

One more try

Not able to post well today

Sorry folks, my intent was to show results of sharp knife, saw and drawkife used by my 4th grade kid.  He used a draw knife to carve that kayak paddle.
But I now realize I most likely " hijacked " the thread... many apologies

No problem! I certainly understood what you meant. I would rather have kids be "producers" using their creativity to make stuff with tools than "consumers" sitting in front of screens.

Rico Loma wrote:I envision all the time spent with tools , and also machinery, that results in your skill level.  Sharpening by hand with your degree of exactitude is world class. As my Scottish cousin might say I am gobsmacked.

Thanks, but I think I'm somewhere in the middle of the pack. No high priest robes. I'm looking for a good working edge that is satisfying to work with, and I had to learn all this by trial and error -- I had no-one to teach me.

These days I have opportunities to share what I've learned the hard way. In an hour or so I can show anyone who's interested how the "magic" works. It's not magic at all, just a skill that hasn't been passed down. Once you know the principles, and know how to feel the blade and the edge as you sharpen, the rest is just practice, practice, practice.

I personally know people who hand-forge knives and straight razors from exotic steels. Incredible work, and incredible edges -- they blow my doors off. I just want grannies to have sharp knives in their kitchens; they know how to cook, and they appreciate a blade that cuts well.

I like to use an orbital sander / belt sander, whatever you have available. Sit the sander on my lap, upside down so that I can squeeze between my legs. Hold the knife with two hands, knife, chisel, hatchet, anything you wish to sharpen, to whatever degree bevel you require, and sand away through the different grits of paper. Start with an 80, move up to 120/180/240/400

On the 80 grit, unless you have a quality knife, and I'd put even cheap kitchen knives in that category. Then you'd be leaving horrendous marks on the blade, in addition to taking a lot of metal off and, possibly, changing the critical temper of the blade from heat build up.

To be fair, a well-used 80 grit belt is not nearly as aggressive as a new one, so might pass as a bastard 120 or 150 grit.

If I went that route, which grit I started with would depend on what I'm sharpening. An ax, hoe or mower blade might play well with an 80 grit belt or disc. For more delicate jobs, I'd start with 320 or 220. I run the latter and a 1"x42" Delta belt sander, and it makes touching up lathe knives a quick task.  In any event, I would move fast to keep the metal from heating.