In to the blade, how important?

Hey, I realize this will likely come off as a pretty stupid question, but how important is it to hone in to the blade? That is to say, with the cudding edge facing in the direction of your stroke?

When I sharpen knives, I always had the cutting edge trailing the stroke. I found I got a decent edge, and I suppose I adopted it as a safety thing, that way you're never moving a blade towards your body.

Because the straight razor honing is so delicate, I don't really see it as a safety issue, it just feels a little wierd to sharpen in that direction. I was just wondering how big a difference it makes?

The result is actually better when you lead with the edge. It minimizes the burr that could form. There is a document in the archives on sharpening experiments, one of the conclusions was that leading with the edge produces better results on all cutting utensils.