I went full circle. I was given a Buck knife back in the late 70's when I was a kid and one of their honing kits which had a soft arkansas and hard arkansas stone. This was when Buck knives were really hard.....I think made of 440C and mine came without an edge. I spent hours trying to sharpen the thing when I first should have had some el cheapo knives to practice with and develop muscle memory and second I should have had a really coarse Silicone Carbide stone to profile the Buck with before I took it to the Arkansas stones. My new Buck came out lopsided and had a "working edge" ie it was still dull but better than a butter knife.
This soured me on freehand sharpening, Arkansas Stones, and caused me to have a preference for carbon steel because it was soft enough to sharpen with the equipment I had at the time. At some point in young adulthood, I got a Lansky kit and worked up my first decent edges. I used the Lansky kit for many years until the internet and Youtube came along and I saw what guys were able to do freehand. I got some dollar store knives and an India stone and learned....actually finished learning how to do it.....by mimicking them. Then I learned a little about abrasives and what is appropriate for what stages in the process. For instance, Arkansas stones are magic for finishing and maintaining some steels but they are not what you need to profile, or reprofile any halfway modern knife.....like I was trying to do with the Buck when I was a kid.
Anyway, now that I can freehand, I much prefer it. Its simple, fast, portable.....and can be as economical or expensive as you want. I actually have a little fun doing it depending on the mood I'm in. Sometimes I like making edges that can push cut phone book paper and shave an ape for fun but the reality is I could get by quite well in the hunting world with a 20 dollar two sided India stone and a bottle of mineral oil.
