Knife sharpening has progressed beyond the days where a bench stone was used to sharpen dull knives. Nowadays, you can still use an old school tool for sharpening your knives, but there are lots of more sophisticated choices as well. You should choose the kind of sharpener you need depending on what kind of knives you need to sharpen and what type you like the best.

A grinding wheel has bits of harsh grain materials that will cut small chips away in your knife and therefore sharpen it. You can find wheels with all kinds of different materials in them. The most common type of material is aluminum oxide, which is present in most wheels. You can also find ones that have other kinds of oxide in them. Aluminum oxide is the best for getting steel, bronze, and iron sharpened.

You can also find zirconia alumina is a combination of aluminum and zirconium oxide. This will make for a very strong wheel. You can sharpen lots of types of steel and alloy materials with this kind of material. This si the second most common material used after aluminum oxide.

One of the newer substances used in a wheel is ceramic aluminum oxide which is very powerful and precise as well. This can be combined with another substance. This usually depends on the type of metal it will sharpen.

There are many different shapes for a wheel, but the straight wheel is the most often used. Another popular wheel choice is one with a cylinder shaper.

You should also consider the grit size when you are choosing a wheel. You want to find one with that matches your needs. If you find one with a lower number like 10 or 24 then you know it is a coarse wheel. If you find one with 100 or 180 then you know it is a fine grain wheel. A fine grain is an excellent match for finishing things up because then can get off the tiniest bits of metal.

A bench grinder is a cheap and easy way to sharpen lots of knives. You can use them to sharpen other things such as hand tools and drill bits as well. You can mount on on a workbench and the wheel will come in either a 6 or 10-inch size. You can get a motor that has 1/3 to 1 horsepower. You should get one with a tool rest so that it will be more precise.

You need a sharpener for your chainsaw if you have one in your workshop. You can get an automatic one that is really the best way to sharpen this tool. Your chain is secured in place and the wheel goes down on it. You can sharpen each tooth at a time to make sure that they are very even and exact.

Getting a manual sharpener may not be worth it. They are very expensive and can work with lots of different chains. You will use a lever to secure the chain in place and many times these sharpeners have more than one wheel. You can use them to work on all different chains. If you have a simple chainsaw than an automatic sharpener should be sufficient.

On Tuesday November 7, 2006 I traveled to the village of Maghar in the Galilee, home to 18,000 inhabitants. 60% of the people are Druze. Christian and Muslim are evenly divided, although the Christian Exodus has increased since 2005 at an alarming rate.

One percent of Israeli society are Druze, which is an offshoot of Islam with secretive practices and meeting places. The Druze originated in Egypt in the 11th century and today they number about 70,000 in Israel. While the Druze had lived in peaceful community throughout the centuries with Christians in Israel, in February 2005 violence erupted.

Rumors had circulated that a Christian had posted a photograph of a Druze female on the Internet and as a result of the unverified rumors 3,000 Druze youth took to the streets and attacked, vandalized, burned and destroyed 120 houses and stores and 125 cars belonging to Christians.

Attorney Haytham Abdalla, Advocate for St. George Melkite [Greek Orthodox in communion with the Roman Catholic Church which has married priests] of Maghar stated, "No one was killed, but these youth were all armed. The Druze serve in the Israeli army in the West Bank and in Gaza. If we Christians would have resisted, they most likely would have shot us. After these youth serve in the army, they return home thinking they can do anything and they take their anger out on us Christians.

"For three days they terrorized us and the Israeli police did nothing but watch the destruction of our property. The big problem is the State of Israel does not protect the Christian, and they claim everything they do is for "Security." One day after the attack the police did announce there never was such a photograph on the Internet. But the police never did anything to protect us or our property. They just watched it happen. We are like the first century Christians, we are attacked and have no support. That is Israeli state policy. An Israeli TV station did come here and shot video, but the police forbid them to air it for "security" reasons.

"Right after the attack the Israeli Minister of Education issued an order that Christians were not allowed to attend the public school in Maghar. The parents were too afraid to send them back there anyway, and now 90% of our children study in Canna or Nazareth. They all attend private schools which are expensive and the parents must transport their children. Only one of our youth attends the public school now because his family can not afford private school. Every day he is beaten and every time his father reports it to the Principal, he is told they will take care of the situation, but nothing ever changes. This young boy use to be very calm, but now he is angry all the time, always under pressure, always being beaten and the school system and the Israeli police do nothing.

"Fifteen years ago a policy was instituted by the Israeli government to get rid of all the Christian teachers from the public school system. There are 400 people who work with the Maghar city council, but only four are Christians. We Christians don't belong to this village, it is like we are living in a hotel, we just sleep here.

"We Christians in the Holy Land are always on the losing side. We face discrimination from the State of Israel, from the Druze and even some Muslims. Everyone is against us! In Maghar most of the Muslims are neutral about us, and we are all afraid to join together because then the Israeli forces will shoot us all!

"We once were a vibrant Christian community, but now our church is the only church in a Druze neighborhood. Fifty years ago there were only Christians in this neighborhood, but they have left. My son is three and unless things change, when he is five we are leaving too.

"But, yet we have many volunteers who want to change the situation. We want to build a Christian school. We have room on the church property, what we lack is money and outside support. We look to you to tell our story."

On May 14, 1948 The Declaration of the establishment of Israel affirmed:

"One the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations."

When Israel became a State it was contingent upon upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which Israel denies, ignores, defies and "Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law…

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world" [Preamble Universal Declaration of Human Rights]

May We the People of the world unite in International Solidarity and Rise Up/Intifada in nonviolent resistance and with words sharper than a two edged sword and demand Israel uphold the rule of law and what they agreed to.

There will never be peace nor security without JUSTICE and Human Rights for all because whenever there is "disregard and contempt for human rights [it has]resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind" [Ibid]

May We the People of the world unite in International Solidarity and demand Israel uphold ALL Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specifically citing:

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 8.

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

-Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.

-Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

Article 30.

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

I close my case with Article 19 and will NOT shut up, until the Mainstream Media-the Fourth Estate in the USA does it's job. Until that happens civilian journalists/bloggers must Rise Up/Intifada and DO SOMETHING!

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

I have heard that certain types of knives are illegal for use in war, such as knifes with a saw edge. Anyone have any factual evidence to support this? I dont think it is true, because USAF survival knifes issued have this edge. I looked up the Geneva Conventions, Geneva Protocol and the Hague Conventions and havent found anything.

My friends father recently passed away. He has hundreds of swords, knives, battle swords, samurai swords. I have tried e-bay and craigslist. Does anyone know a good place to sell these items? We are trying to pay for his burial expenses. THANK YOU!

I have always had the crappy, cheapo knives. I want to splurge a little and get a good set of knives. I don't mind spending enough to get quality, but I still don't want to shell out big bucks just for knives. Any suggestions?