Thread: Unsuccessful honing

It's a skill. Give it a few years. There is no unsuccessful honing, only incomplete honing. If you haven't yet, get an edge honed by a pro to evaluate.

It's mostly about smoothness and polish. I've never once taught anyone that had even an adequate stroke after the first few hours of practice. After a few weeks it looks pretty good. Once you develop a perfect stroke you've got a shot at learning to hone. Until then you're kind of just wasting the stones time.