It was actually hard to hone because it was hard. Spark testing was similar to 1085, which was unexpected. I’m reading that wrenches are normally a medium carbon steel, just a little better than RR spikes. I normalized it then quenched it in cold ATF. Cold being about 45 degrees, from a dull cherry red.
I am not really a knife maker, I’m leaning more towards tools and fixtures. I’m certainly no metallurgist, I mostly work with mild steel from tractor supply and scrap metals.
But I used each of my diamond “stones”, from extra coarse to extra fine and it took hours. Then I stropped it for a little while. That’s after getting it just slightly sharper than a butter knife on my belt grinder.
I do hope it holds an edge at least long enough to be satisfactory. My boss also knows how to sharpen a knife, so at least there’s that.
It’s actually surprising how many people I know who have no clue how to sharpen a knife. I have a friend who likes to just take his pocketknife to a bench grinder and leans into it until it turns purple. Gets it about as sharp as a putty knife and calls it good. Blows my mind.