My Grandaddy could really sharpen a knife on a whet rock, and as a kid I was impressed. But, as I grew older and watched him sharpening it (he always carried a Tree Brand three-blade Stockman), I was amazed at how he did it. He didn't try to hold a specific angle on the edge as he sharpened, he simply laid the blade down flat on the rock, and slid it back and forth until he had a very long angle edge ........... it was one angle all the way from the edge to the back of the blade!
Now, it took him a very long time to get that started on a new knife, but once he did, he could resharpen it quickly. I remember that everytime I asked to use his knife he asked me first what I was going to use it for. Upon hearing my answer, he would open the specific blade he wanted me to use to do that. The spey blade was reserved for castrating calves, and was kept extremely sharp.
SRH
Stan, your Grandaddy honed his knives the way I hone my straight razors.........cutting edge and spine both laying flat and touching on the hone. He probably used X strokes with the cutting edge leading. After he was done I bet he used a leather strop for the finishing touch.
