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Hi.
76yr old. ex pro shooter, knife freak. in Australia.
Had\have knives from $2 specials as a kid to $600plus Japanese Damascus kitchen (Several), Puma, and some Custom items.

Stones. wheels, strops etc, Fine,
But painstakingly slow and need a LOT of practice, experience to give a skin peeling edge every time.

I peel “fine” layers of skin from my skin for testing. MUCH better indicator of edge, Harder to get on Western Steel. easy on Japanese. Puma blades easy.

For last 10\15 yrs I’ve used Diamond plates on an angled base.
ALWAYS same angle, which you can set up in seconds for
each blade.
Still have old stones I keep for nostalgia. Oil and Whet.
But there really is No comparison.
A coupla seconds on suitable diamond plate.
gives you equal finish edge to Multiple minutes on stones and unless using a guide. Not so precise an angle.

I finish for daily use on 2 x Steels (12in) One a 600grit Diamond.
T’other. a “smooth” finish Crystal coated Steel. Like (is) glass.
They smoother\finer, than the Ceramic ones.
I sharpen wife’s kitchen knives. Wusthof and Japanese, around every 6 months or so. Steels keep them up to a shaving edge
for that long.

Go to a knife shop with your SECOND fav blade and try…

I bought a “RUIXIN PRO” Angle blade sharpener off net yrs ago
(Cheap… To try. Still using) Comes with stones. Junk….
I modified carrier to take my mix of DMT. and THK Diamond plates. Coarse.Med. Fine. Extra fine and smooth.

IF you DO want to persevere with the old school Whet Stones. Do yourself a favour. and buy an angled “guide” to suit,
Clips on spine of blade. For Western or Japanese Blades.
Differing bevel angles. (Long and short to suit blade lengths)
At least you’ll get a constant angle that way.

Have fun.
I spent near 50 yrs on stones till I got educated.
And old, Army 3in leather belt makes best strop.