Making hones doesn't require high tech, or anything. There are recipes that are about hundred years old - you can find them on google books for example.
As any other thing you can get as involved in it as you want.

Now, making a full line of hones like specialized companies like norton, shapton, naniwa, etc. make, and being able to successfully compete with them in terms in quality and cost is what is hard and does require high tech not to mention far more scientific and engineering knowledge than a typical DIY hobbyist possesses.