Mike

Yes, more laps on a smaller narrower stone. The blade is spending much less time on the stone, so you have to do more laps to get the same amount of time on the stone. On a 1.5 stone at least twice the amount of laps

Onimaru

It is just lapping perhaps to a higher level and you only have to do it once. The Chinese stone is a hard stone, when I bought mine a couple of years ago, it was pretty rough and after lapping with a DMT, I was not impressed with the results. So I lapped it as I have with Finishing Arks in a method that has worked for me. I can get an edge from my C12K, but there are better options in my opinion. It is not a stone I would recommend especially to a novice honer.

Many folks seem to have problems with Arks and C12Ks as finishing stones and it could be the face is just too rough and needs lapping to a smoother finish.

As for the Smith’s Honing Solution, I do not know why it works, but with naturals it does work well, it only cost a few dollars.