Holy Necro post, batman!
But , I have had the pleasure of going through a few more 'sessions' with my knife tutors and also from Wayne Goddard.
I still use the Lansky ceramic for quick sharpening - but have bben converted to using a norton 2 level stone - med/fine (grey and red) wth a good oil or simple green (believe it or not, Wayne Goddard's choice of lifting agent).
The sharpie trick is recommended by all.
All of them ' free hand' sharpen and recommend it - you can feel the work better.
Listen to the blade as it runs over the stone - you will hear the difference when the edge comes up.
Watch the lifting agent - you will see the metal powder lifting along the edge, and how 'dirty' it's getting.
Don't be afraid of pressure - but make sure it isw even along the entire side of the edge you are working on.
Work on one side of the edge at a time on the grit you need - evenly (6 passes one side, 6 passes the other) - and count the number of passes - use the same amount on both sides.
Stones work on forward or backward passes - don't lift the edge if you don't need to flip it. (burring happens, deburring comes later)
it takes 2 hands 2 eyes, 2 ears to get it right.
Practice.
Hard steels take longer, it's a fact of life.
Practice.
You need a bench strop.
what kind of edge do you need? (working, shaving, carving, single or dual bevel?)
Serrations can be sharpened.
Practice.
You will screw up - it can be fixed.
Practice.
it's an art.
Practice.
When you are comfortable - buy a Japanese Water Stone - for finishing - but be prepared to have to re face it after your first attempts to use it - it's soft.
Practice.
If you want more info... PM me... sharpening is therapy for me and a lot of my knives are CPM-S30-V... very small grain, very hard (60ish Rockwell) and I can get them very sharp--- Harsey has passed my sharpening skills.
Have I mentioned this takes Practice - lots of it? don't practice on crappy knives/steel it'll force bad habits and make it tougher to get your good knives in shape.
