My Dad was a carpenter and as a kid I used to watch him do maintenance stuff on his tools. He used to sharpen and set his saws and sharpen his chisels on an oilstone. He never used a leather strap to strop his chisels but used the palm of his hand. It used to scare the life out of me to watch.
mine too but they never get much use these days. I was taught “scary sharp” which I use to this day
you really do have an amazing YouTube playlist
I sharpen my chisels on Japanese water stones, finishing with 6,000 grit and then I use a leather strip (glued to a board) with polishing compound on it, just for the secondary bevel though. Mirror finish and as sharp as a new razor blade. No need to strop, the polishing has the same effect.
Sharp is sharp. Scary is only for blunt tools.
Have split this into its own thread because quite frankly I love sharp knives to an almost unhealthy degree.
I now need advice on whetstones for kitchen knives. What’s foo and what’s worth paying for?
or if you don’t want to spend that much
Doesn’t mean it’s right/safe though does it?
There is far more enlightened thinking towards safety these days, thank fuck - that’s why accident stats (particularly in the construction industry) have been improving for years. 
Guns for show
Knives for a pro
It is safe TBH. Never seen anyone cut themselves steeling a knife using either method. I was in the trade for ten years and saw very few bad cuts. I only cut myself bad enough for hospital and stitches once and that was using a bandsaw.
The only way to cut yourself steeling a knife is by showing off and going too fast. Which not only dangerous but won’t be effective in keeping the edge on your blade. Steeling is for keeping the edge. Sharpening knives is a whole other issue.
That first set look perfect, and certainly not an unreasonable price either. They also ship to France which is handy.
Good. If it is only for sharpening knives they should last a long time. I have much thicker ones, but I also use them for sharpening woodworking tools.
The trick is to keep the stone wet (just water, never oil) They remove material very quickly, so only a very few passes are needed. You will probably only use the coarse stone if you have a very blunt blade (unlikely) or you somehow damage it and need to completely regrind the edge.
I’ve got a set of three like those but bought separately for a good bit more than that. They work very well.
I’ve certainly seen them for a lot more (the Shapton Glass and Bob Kramer ones are about three times that price) but I honestly don’t know where the quality really lies. Obviously law of diminishing returns is going to kick in quite aggressively.
I’m no expert but I’ve had the three stones for 6 years now & there’s no obvious wear except for the writing on the surface. Took me a while to get the technique right & it’s still a bit of a faff but the results are definitely worth it. Especially to see the shining edge after the 6000 stone and watch the knife fall through a tomato 
My brother in law, he was given some global knives as a Christmas gift, out came the matching steel, swish swish swish, blood splatter.
Took the finger tip of his thumb off, high pressure aterial splatter across the ceiling, 3 hour hospital trip.
I still laugh about it to this day.
And here, Ladies and Gentlemen, is why you should never buy Global knives 