The Edge

There are many methods available out there to sharpen your knife. I just happen to prefer the use of the stones, it is very rewarding and therapeutic form of sharpening and in the vast majority of cases it is very successful. It is not difficult to take the edge of a knife to a degree of sharpness that is beyond the factory edge or "out of the box" sharpness. Do we really need the knife to be that sharp, no we don't. However, I don't think anyone could argue that the sharper it is, the better it is. The key, for me though is to not just producing  an edge that is sharp enough to shave with but also one that will stay sharp for a long period of time. Maintaining the edge with a steel of course is paramount and good practice to follow very regularly.
A Relief Angle is something I often put on good kitchen knives, it is merely a secondary angle behind the micro bevel. Basically, you have the edge, the very thin cutting portion of the knife and then you have the bevel. On most knives, certainly German knives for example there is a bevel on each side and then. The relief angle is applied to the section between the bevel and heel of the knife.
In this picture you can clearly see the line created by sharpening at two different angles.

Relief Angle

This knife was sharpened first at a 13 degree angle to form the Relief Angle, while not clearly visible here it has a mirror like edge to it. Then the micro bevel, was sharpened at 18 degrees to create an extremely sharp knife and one that will retain the edge for some time. When cutting food, the food will slide up the relief angle which has formed a tiny ramp, it makes cutting easier. The beauty of this technique is that the edge is very easy to resharpen, I only need to work on the micro bevel. It is also a very attractive look to those who care about such things....I care about such things :). Most folks are not really concerned about this type of thing, however, most do appreciate a sharp knife. Whether you get it that way from Japanese Water Stones, oil stones, belt sanders or electric grinders, there is no doubt in my mind that everyone appreciates the final product. I  just happen to be the one of the people that enjoys the entire process.