The Guardian (UK Newspaper) weighs in with a guide to sharpening your knives, complete with the usually entertaining editorial edge:
Hold the steel vertically, with its point resting on a stable work surface, preferably with a tea towel in between to avoid damaging both the work surface and the blade, and to give you greater stability. You might have seen celebrity chefs holding it in the other hand, but they have spent years mastering the technique. You haven't.