I still have the range of Arkansas stones - mostly Smith's. Black & white hard to soft. I even have an 8k Japaneese water stone. All worked well with my single bevel wood carving and turning tools, while I never successfully sharpened pocket/fb knives. That changed when I got a Spyderco 'Sharpmaker', whose triangular ceramic files force you to even out any 'bias' you might influence your sharpenening with by being very 'slow' in it's application. While 400A/420 might be resharpened in the 20 pulls per stage, even Buck's 420HC needs more - S30V, etc, a lot more. Still, it has proven to be a valuable tool - especially when you compare it's price to the needed Arkansas stones. I'd say it's a viable alternative to either of the OP's choices.
Stainz