"As they say in Italy, Italians were eating with a knife and fork when the French were still eating each other. The Medici family had to bring their Tuscan cooks up there so they could make something edible"
I did, too-between the class & reading here, I feel like I should know alot more than I actually do! You just can't discount actual, hands-on sharpening advice (even if you spend part of the time looking at other peoples' knives, stones, techniques & mostly, Dave's shelves, for things that you lust after...)
I looked at your pics with the hope that you had become better looking thru the osmosis of being in my company at the last ECG. It didn't help a bit! .....or maybe I'm uglier than I thot.