I am anal about sharp tools, when I am not smoking or grilling I am in my woodshop making sawdust. My father was a master carpenter and instilled in my that a dull tool is a useless tool. So whether it be a bench chisel, plane iron, lathe gouge or a kitchen knife, if I am using it I want it sharp. Over the years I have done a lot of reading and experimenting on how to get a good edge on whatever tool I am using dejour.
Lets talk kitchen knife. First, is it sharp? My working definition of sharp for a kitchen knife is, if it can easily make clean thin slices of a *ripe* tomato it is good to go. If it is a tool for crushing tomatoes, you have some work to do.
Japanese water stones, Arkansas whetstones, sandpaper and in a pinch the concrete curb at your driveway will all put a usable edge on a knife. The angle at which you are holding the edge against the abrasive is what is critical, more accurately the consistency of the angle. Most chef knives are ground at 18 degrees, a heavy cleaver 15 degrees. The angles can vary by several degrees and you will never notice, as long as you sharpen at the same angle each time.
It is that consistency that the various jigs provide, whether it is the Worksharp, the Wicked Edge or the EdgePro, they all put you back at the same grind angle each time you use them. That not only gives you a good consistent edge, but it removes the least amount of metal everytime you touch up your blade. If you are practiced with freehand sharpening on a stone, you have good muscle memory and just come back each time with the same angle, that just takes practice. I freehand my pocket knife and it is very sharp, I like the EdgePro for my kitchen blades, once I have it setup, I touch up all the knives in my block in one go around.
What about grit? For the tomato protocol, 220 - 320 is as far as you need go. Finer than that is getting into more of polishing and won't hurt anything, but I don't feel it buys you anything as far as making clean slices.
The Worksharp (I have two) is a good tool, but keep in mind it is a power sander and poor technique can really screw up a good blade. Watch the videos and mind the caveats and it will do you well. The wicked Edge (I had to google this one) looks like an excellent tool, but for the $$'s I don't see that it has anything over the EdgePro, other than, perhaps, a quicker setup time.
Good luck and remember, bandaids are not cool!