I am just getting into custom knife making and in fact, finished my first blade today... well, I still have to do a final 2000 grit wet sand and polish of the blade, but other than that I'm done. I got into it because a buddy has been doing them for about a year and i thought "heck, i could do that!"
Anyways, my buddy uses the Work Shop Tool and Knife sharpener. He got his from the bargain cave at Cabela's, but Amazon sells them for $20 cheaper than Cabela's standard price. It hones it to a 6000 grit edge.
http://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSKTS-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B003IT5F14I use a hand-me-down Smith's sharpening system with the three stone jig and honing oil. I then follow that up with a piece of ceramic tile scrap that I got from work and then strop it on an old fine leather belt that I kept around just for that purpose. I shaved a little bit of my scruff off today with this blade
here is my first blade and the second in progress. As a fun tie-in with firearms, the lanyard thong tube is lined with a russian 7.62 nagant pistol brass casing