Apart from their utility as strops hones are great if you want to brighten up a piece of steel fast. After heatreat ATS 34 blades have the colours of the heatreat still on them. Rubbing for a few minutes with a hone loaded with coarse abrasive (150 grit ) brings it up quite nicely, thank you very much and works well as a quick handfinish. I've also found it usefull in restoring oxidised and scratched blades on my using knives where again a few minutes can make a blade look like new. With the right choice of abrasive it can be used to achieve pleasing surface textures in almost any metal and tends to blend different textures into an homogenous whole very well.
When I'm working on ground surfaces I take care to rub only in the direction of the scratches left by the grinder. Without regular replenishment of the abrasive, the steel has a tendancy to glaze a bit so I ensure that the hone is refreshed with grit frequently. I also use a different hone with each grit size so there will be no contamination. I'm not really attempting to resurface the steel but rather to clean and blend the surface that is already there. I generally use the 150 grit silicon carbide grit on the 10 inch hone. For best results it helps to match the abrasive grit size to the existing surface. I don't use water or any other lubricant and find that I get a cleaner, brighter effect when used dry.. I plan to try 60 grit in future, so stay tuned.
I've also been experimenting with pumice and talcum powder on finer surfaces like the nickle bolsters on my pocket knife which were tarnished and lackluster. Again with great results.
