Hah! That would have worked way better.

If you're not using a wet stone with the proper angle you're not sharpening it, if you use a honing rod or other method it is merely just straightening the blade. I highly suggest Mercer brand for culinary knives or others of similar quality and not just any old kitchen knife that comes in a generic set.

Wusthoff used to be good. I got a couple older dalstrongs In my bag also

Since you are so passionate about sharpness...
Have you ever used ceramic knifes for a prolonged timeframe?

The sharpness with ceramic knives isn't a huge issue although most use inferior folded metals, the issue with ceramic knives is they're not full tang and prone to get loose and break and less control with the blade

Full tang or you dont care about keeping your fingers