Honing is a multisensory experience. I use everything I've got. I feel the steel and stone working together with my fingers. I listen to the steel on the stone. I look at the steel pattern coming off onto the stone. I watch the way the slurry is moving. I don't notice different smells when I am honing but agree with the others that different stones smell differently. To test a stone I don't know, I rub it hard and fast with the heel of my hand to produce friction and that will raise the smell of the stone (make sure your hands are clean and you haven't eaten an onion/garlic blue cheese sandwich just before). Arkansas stones especially have a distinct smell and the belgians do as well.