Ever since man started using sharp metal objects there has only been one way to sharpen them. Find something harder and rub the sharp object against the harder surface. Arkansas and other natural stones are known to be the best hard objects for sharpening anything. Many years ago stone mining companies began switching to synthetic stones. Synthetic stones are more profitable because they have shorter lifespans and, after an initial investment, production costs eventually go down. Mining anything is costly and dangerous, but the primary motive to build more synthetic stones was, and is today, higher profits.
As grit companies grew larger they began purchasing mines. Instead of mining these natural stone mines, they simply closed them and eliminated the competition. Access to natural stones has become more challenging due to these facts, but there are a few mines left, still producing natural stones.
All sharpening systems are taking advantage of us to profit. Instead of learning how to determine and maintain a correct angle we buy contraptions to do it for us. This means we never learn the skill of sharpening that was once common knowledge. In addition to not learning the skill we also learn to settle for duller edges which are more dangerous and time consuming. Whether you use Lansky, KME, or Wicked Edge, you are still using either a natural or synthetic stone to sharpen your tool. Lanksy, KME, and Wicked Edge systems cannot sharpen anything, but a stone can. On top of that, those small slivers of stone are overpriced and will wear out quickly. When they do, you are stuck buying replacements from the original company or buying a whole new system from some other company.
I recommend you take time to learn how to sharpen your knives, tools, razors and anything else that needs an edge on a natural stone. You will have to purchase synthetic stones because many grit ranges are hard to find in natural stones because the money is in synthetics, but there are still many natural stones available for many parts of the sharpening process. The best finishing stones are natural even though synthetic stones are pretty close. You will have to buy some cheap knives and razors for practice, but your end results will be well worth the effort. You will be more independent, you will learn more about history and metallurgy, and you will have something invaluable to pass on to the next generation. Go ahead, develop your own skills, maintain and restore straight razors, knives, axes, scissors, and other sharp tools. Don’t let a corporation steal your birthright. Hunt, fish, shoot, catch, slaughter, build, sharpen, restore; learn and use all the natural skills that you were born to do.