One of the things that helped me the most when learning to hone was learning what properly honed razor should feel like on the stones. Get a razor or two honed professionally and shave test to make sure it meets your standard. Do not strop. Take the razor to the finest stone you have and perform some laps light as a feather, Taking special notice to how the razor feels as it glides across the hone. It should feel this way off of each hone before you go to the next one. IMO, microscopes and loupes are great, almost indispensable tools for the initial steps in the honing process, but nothing can replace the feel of the steel on the stone.