I deep running in to people who can not sharpen "MY xxxx out of yy steel). They have other knives they can sharpen.
Not sure how much is real and how much is perceived.
Most do not start with coarse enough grit, clean enough stones or the ability to hold a consistent angle.
Also, you have to get a burr first, before going with finer grit.

I sharpened blades for 50 years on bench stones and thought I was pretty good until Rick lent me his Edge Pro.
Got one for myself. Consistent angle, clean stones chase the burr. Scary sharp, if you want that.

I am really curious to see how well this M4 at 63.5 Rc holds up in the field.
Two of the 8 blades in pic above will get field tested by 24 hr knife loonies and 1+ by myself of course.

Tim

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
Albert Einstein

At Khe Sanh a sign read "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never knew".