Start with a cheap diamond stone and a strop. That combo changed everything for me. I used to just grind away on a whetstone until my chisel looked like a rounded butter knife. Now I hit it with the diamond plate to set the bevel, then run it over the strop a few times and it comes out like a mirror.
Used to think diamond stones were a gimmick honestly, but picked up a cheap one last month and yeah, you're right. Huge difference compared to soaking stones for hours.