I've used many different systems and the one that works best for me are the diamond rods with an angle brace. This is the one that I use, but there are several different brands available. I also have the Worksharp electric belt sander system, and that works really well too, but it removes a lot of metal, so I only use it sparingly. I used to have off-brand crock sticks and those are pretty cool, but they take a lot of time and still have a margin for user error. I used nothing but stones when I was younger, and that's a cool system that gives the user a lot of manual control, but good stones are expensive, you need several of them, they're bulky to store, and there's a lot of room for error. Any of these are good options, and there are more still that I didn't mention. It just comes down to personal preference.

Project Farm has done a few videos on knife sharpeners. His testing is usually pretty straight to the point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9Lu71ewVSw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBINMUdlJ14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEDyYJJ6f9M

I actually was just re-watching them as my whetstone has seen better days, and I'm pretty sure it's now too curved to continue on

Explain please. I use a work sharp electric sharpener which has basically sandpaper bands. I guess I have one of those metal rods with grooves but i don’t use it.

Ideally both, but I meant an actual sharpening system. Either a series of progressively finer stones, some crock sticks, diamond rods, or whatever works best for the individual.