The half stroke has recently become my favorite stroke. It is a super quick way to zip through the strokes necessary on slow hones (I'm eyeballing you Zulu Grey). I use circles intermittently but prefer the half stroke since I feel my pressure is more consistent, I get more lateral movement, it's easy on narrow hone, and works well on all blade types for me. I'm sure this has been gone over a million times, but I really encourage everyone out there to try all the different strokes; some are always gonna be more natural to you. You can cut way down time wise when you find your stroke of choice for speed work. It's funny how each stroke is such a tool and the way they can be arranged to make your honing more efficient. Explore, explore, explore!!!!