Proper honing is the best way to keep your knives sharp longer. 

Turn the honing rod upside as shown below and place the tip on a cutting board, this allows you to see the angle . Starting from the heel of the knife ( no wrist action*) pull the knife towards you as it "slices" on a downward stroke. Try to make the downward portion of your stroke and the pull portion equal, ie. down one inch pull one inch. See the pictures below. 

Movement of my elbow and shoulder makes the up angle of the knife change to pointing level and then down.

*No wrist action simply means a stiff wrist or no wrist bending. Bending the wrist changes the angle. If you saw a piece of wood with a hand saw note your wrist does not bend.