hi there, a good way to get the basics of free hand sharpening down is to put a small bull dog clip on the back of the blade your going to sharped and use that as a guide.
Now push the edge over the stone (forwards, push the edge over the stone, dont drag it over the stone), keeping the knife held at the correct(same) angle so the bulldog clip sits flush with the stone. That will basically just teach you to hold the same angle throughout your stroke.
Once you have the basic concept down you can remove the bull dog clip and sharpen with whatever angle you want.
So IMO the main things are;
1 . maintain the same angle throughout. constant angle is more important then it being either to steep or not steep enough.
2. always push the edge into the stone. dont drag it over the stone. Only time you will pull the edge OVER the stone is when stropping. (when you get better you can push hard forward, reduce pressure and pull it back over the stone which saves time and effort lifting off the stone, but just stick with forward strokes only till you get the hang of it)
3. use the bull dog clip only to help you figure out what angle you should be holding and to help you keep it consistent. its not the perfect angle or anything but it WILL teach you what you need to know.
4. use a pretty coarse stone. you dont need a really fine stone to get a good sharp edge, and the coarser stone will be easier to see & feel your progress.
5. I like diamonds
6. keep in mind, all your trying to do is get a clean "apex" dont overthink it
