If one defines sharpness as "the ability to hold an acute edge angle", then simple high carbon steels such as white paper steels and 1095 fit this bill (assuming a good heat treatment).
Once you start adding alloying elements to steel, it tends to form carbides (hard molecules of the alloying element and carbon) which are embedded in the steel. Many carbides are large (on the microscopic scale, anyway). Sharpening these steels at an acute edge angle will tend to pull these carbides out, causing the edge to collapse. The more carbides (ZDP189 has a lot), the more obtuse an edge is reqired to maintain edge stability. This is especially so if the carbides are large.
So as a general principle, simple steels will get sharper than highly alloyed steels, provided they have the hardness to support that fine edge (even if they are not nearly as abrasion resistant).