I'm glad that you figured out your hone. It is a real pleasure to be able to put a shave-worthy edge on a blade with just a stone.

I've been doing something similar myself - returning to hones I never took the time to properly learn how to use, and it's been a journey quite like yours. It was initially not going the way I wanted, and then I hit on t he technique that worked for me on those hones. I've been happily shaving off those edges for the last few days. It's very gratifying to be able to do that.