Wow, If we
had a payroll, I'd have to put Allen, Mike and a whole lot of other people on it!
Generally speaking, I think Allen nailed it: Standard stones with maybe one coarse diamond for tough jobs. No matter which type of stone I'm using, I almost always sharpen dry... no water or oil at all. I'll use some oil (can even be vegetable oil) to
clean the stones when they get cruddy but that's about the only time I use oil at all.
Mike and I talked about the oil seeping from his ceramic stones when they were locked in the hot truck... That's the only way I know to get them to ever seep or bleed: high heat. I found this out by laying one on my woodstove one day after the fire had been out for an hour or so. Normally this is not an issue though.
The standard ceramic/Arkansas stones are $20 cheaper than the diamonds, last far longer, and produce superior finished edges too. That's my recomendation for most people. Thanks again guys!
Ron