hone
Give an edge
Hone means to sharpen, originally on a whetstone: hone a knife, hone a blade.
The extended sense dominates: to refine or perfect through practice: She honed her skills over years of competition, hone your craft.
Often confused with "home in on," which means to zero in—hone in is widely used but considered nonstandard by many.
Stone for sharpening blades
- grindstoneRotating stone for sharpening
- stropLeather sharpening strip
- bladeFlat cutting edge
- knifeSharp cutting utensil
razor · edge · abrasive · file · grit · emery · sandpaper · steel
Repeated work toward mastery
- refineRemove impurities from
- perfectWithout any flaw
- masterAuthority or controller
- developCause gradual growth
cultivate · craft · technique · expertise · proficiency · competence · dexterity · ability
Degree of correctness
- exactnessCorrectness in every detail
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
- meticulousnessExtreme carefulness in details
- detailSingle small element
specificity · fine-tune · adjust · tweak · target · focus · pinpoint · sharpen
Skilled manual tradesperson
- woodworkingCraft of shaping lumber
- blacksmithingForging iron by hand
- carpentryWood construction trade
- leatherworkCrafting with treated hides
metalwork · pottery · glassblowing · tailoring · weaving · cobbling · jewelry · toolmaking
whetstone
Stone for sharpening blades
- grindstoneRotating stone for sharpening
- stropLeather sharpening strip
- bladeFlat cutting edge
knife · razor · edge · abrasive · file · grit · emery · sandpaper · steel · carborundum
practice
Repeated work toward mastery
develop · cultivate · craft · technique · expertise · proficiency · competence · dexterity · ability · artistry
accuracy
Degree of correctness
- exactnessCorrectness in every detail
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
- meticulousnessExtreme carefulness in details
detail · specificity · fine-tune · adjust · tweak · target · focus · pinpoint · sharpen · consistency
artisan
Skilled manual tradesperson
- woodworkingCraft of shaping lumber
- blacksmithingForging iron by hand
- carpentryWood construction trade
leatherwork · metalwork · pottery · glassblowing · tailoring · weaving · cobbling · jewelry · toolmaking · bladesmithing
- adjustmentsadjustment, tweaks, adjust, shifts, fixes
- craftsmanshiphandcrafted, craft, handiwork, stitching, welding
- improve wordsbetter, improve, enhance, upgrade, refine
- narrowing downnarrow, focus, pinpoint, zero in, home in
- improve verbsfix, repair, improve, refine, enhance
- sharpeningsharpening, sharpen, whet, stropping, strop
- hone inFocus with precision
- hone in onFocus narrowly toward target
- honing inProgressively narrowing focus
- honed inFocused sharply on
- finely honed
- honing steelRod for blade edges