What is the difference between honing and grinding?

These terms can be quite confusing. Generally grinding is the removal of large amounts of material from the surface of the stone. Grinding would be performed to remove lippage and to flatten a floor. Grinding grits are typically 60 grit and below. Honing is the smoothing of a stone, not as aggressive as grinding and removes very little material from the surface of the stone. Honing usually starts about the 120 grit.

TIP Grinding grits can be purchased as low as 16 grit. Avoid using these aggressive lower grits since it is very easy to grind too far. It may also be difficult to remove the deep scratches that these aggressive grits leave.