re: Best Knife Sharpener and cleaning methods

If you genuinely have an interest in sharpening your own knives, first do plenty of research. Believe it or not, youtube is a pretty good source for this, look up Mr EZ Cook's sharpening videos.

Invest in a 3 stone system, coarse (250 grit), medium (1000 grit), and fine (4000+ grit) plus a strop (you can make one for very cheap...just leather and some wood+glue). That will get you started and you can work on your technique. Once you get the hang of it, you can determine if you want or need additional stones.

I use 250 (if the knife is blunt), 1000, 4000, 8000, Surgical Black Arkansas, Translucent Arkansas, and a 2 strops...one with green compound, one with bare leather).

I can get my knives shaving sharp, although I'm far from a sharpening guru. It's definitely a skill you have to develop over time and practice.