1. It's not that hard. It took me several weeks until I realized I needed to lap my hone. My next honing session got the razor sharp enough to shave with; it wasn't perfect, but it was shave-worthy. My honing has gotten better since then; I've got a long way to go, but meanwhile I'm pretty happy with my results.

2. What everybody else said.

3. I clip mine on a cord looped around the doorknob.