Fiance is trained as a farrier and can smith with the best of them, so his knowledge about metal is extensive. He is much more diligent about sharpening every knife in the house than I am, and he can put an edge on a blade good enough to shave arm hair in about ten minutes. In a pinch he will use the ceramic mug trick, but we also have a kitchen sharpening steel, and he has a couple of good stones that he bought at shoeing school. He can make a cheap knife into a great tool without too much trouble.
His gripe is that he has to keep sharpening the cheap blades because the metal is so weak. We put good knives on our wedding gift wishlist...