Keep it simple

Hi.
Many people are interested in sharpening their own knives but they don't know how to get started, what they need. They are often afraid that they will ruin their knives.

I look at it this way, if the knife is dull and you don't want to give it to me then learn yourself, you paid good money for that knife, its' dull, fix it, it isn't hard.

You can start with one stone from Lee Valley, a 1,000 grit stone is all you need to get that first start, to see if you can do it, yes 2 stones is better, the 800 grit and lets say 3,000 grit or even 2,000.  ( I buy all my stones on line by the way but I started at Lee Valley, they have some good ones)

Remember what you trying to do, you need to remove that tired out metal that has folded over on the edge and expose the fresh new steel underneath and make Side A and Side B meet at the exact same plane at an angle of your choice, keep it simple though. Raise the spine of the blade an inch off the stone, put 3 quarters under it to use as a guide, or 5 quarters, the exact angle is not important.

The most important thing you can do is to mark the edge of the edge with a sharpie, paint the area you want to actually grind the metal away at. It's pretty simple, you just paint the edge with the sharpie, and go for it, you need to remove that sharpie mark. You can keep using that technique to gauge yourself, to ensure you are on target.

Raise the burr on both sides of the blade and then remove the burr. Lighten up on the stroke when you have done this, and just finish the knife with some nice, gentle swipes of the edge over that well lubricated stone (water).

Don't expect amazing results the first 10 times, just get a feel for it. 

Now pat yourself on the back for just considering it. You can do it, it just takes a little courage and patience. Practise on an inexpensive knife if you need to. Go slow and concentrate on maintain the angle you choose, don't worry if it is not exactly 19 degrees.  Who the hell can hold the knife at exactly 19 degrees and just look at it and say "yup that is 19 deg".

Good luck