I know absolutely dick about sharpening knives and while i have a friend who does it as a hobby(has a nice belt setup and does my stuff for free), i think I'd rather learn to do it myself.
I was going to just buy a wicked edge and learn on that but it seems like a more valuable skill to know how to both hand sharpen and/or learn the science behind process if i do decide to go with a sharpening system, whether wicked edge or worksharp e.t.c...
I want to start with some reading on the subject. What are some good books to start with? I'm looking for both techniques/how to's as well as technical info such as edge profiles, sharpening materials, intended uses etc...
Just looking for a starting point as far as reading material and I'll work outward from there, eventually getting some hardware to start with. What do you use for resources?