Nothing wrong with the Lansky or their stones. That IS a good manual system.
My nephew uses one a lot.

I use and Edge Pro instead, but the stones are not that different.

I clean my stones with water with some dish soap in it and a toothbrush.
You can float the crud out that way.

With oil stones you can float the crud out with light oil like WD 40,.

Modern steels are no problem for Lansky (or any decent) stones. You must keep the stones
clean and fresh no matter what material and method you use.

You may be a candidate for the Original Work Sharp, but it has its own idiosyncracies also.

"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".