For purposes of this explanation lets pretend that there are only two category of hones; Hard: ie. Arkansas and barber hones, Soft: synthetic water hones.

For the soft category the binder is so soft/friable that the peaks don't matter as they are quickly broken down.

For the hard category the binder is so similar to the grit that the peaks do matter. Hard hones need lapped to flatness but also need smoothed to prevent deep gouges in the items being honed. See Translucent Prep for a good procedure.

Jonathan