re: Sharpening Methods - Introduction

I'd try Just adding a strop Ron, makes a surprisingly large difference, and you can just use it to touch up the edge real quick without having to fully re-sharpen.

I, obviously, approach sharpening from the Neanderthal side of things, although I have switched to cheap diamond stones for plane irons, I still prefer the oil stones for chisels though. Still working out what I like best for moulding planes and gouges though. 
I freehand sharpen, but it was just a masochistic challenge, took a stupidly long time to learn & it's not notably quicker than using a guide, relatively speaking, an extra 20 seconds to set up the jig doesn't matter.