The machining noise produced in honing operation is called honing sound. The purpose of this paper is to investigate experimentally the characteristics of this sound, the correlation between its sound pressure and abrading action, and the influence of the stone pressure on it. Moreover, some discussions are had to find how collectly the honing sound monitors the cutting action of sticks. The results are as follows. This sound varies with time both in frequency and magnitude, and its spectrum has the maximum peak at about 1 200 Hz. Its sound pressure is much higher than that of turning noise or grinding one. When the sticks keep the condition of self-dressing and cutting, the honing sound with high sound pressure is produced, but as soon as they start to glaze, its magnitude becomes small. Therefore, the soud pressure is higher under severer honing conditions. Particularly, it increases greatly when the stone pressure is just beyond the critical one. The honing sound is positively applicable as a signal to monitor the cutting action of sticks, because the strong correlation is observed between its sound pressure level and the depth of cut of a stick.