> if i have to sharpen my knives twice a month, then i am not going to be happy. that's just to much effort. i want knives to be durable and ready to take any abuse.

I find that frequent sharpening means that:

1. I can have very inexpensive knives and keep them quite sharp.

2. Keep the sharpening time pretty low ~ 30-60 sec.

3. Maintain my knife sharpening skills.

I can definitely understand why people would want to sharpen less often, particularly if they frequently steel their knives.