Have used a common, fine honing steel under harsh conditions — welfare kitchen, carbon Sheffield on a crappy poly board. When used when performance went noticeably down, it only helped restoring a worn or damaged edge for a very short lapse of time. Example: knife fresh from the stones, steeling after 45 minutes of work, I could use it for 10 minutes again. Steeling again helped for only a few minutes. What happened here, is the restoration of a failing edge with fatigued steel, instead of abrading it, as we do when sharpening.
In my home setting, I use the Dickoron Micro with one dedicated vintage Sab — much softer than said Sheffield, used on a decent board, only for small home tasks. I use the Micro before (!) experiencing any performance loss. I can go on like that for months, before three edge leading strokes on a fine stone become necessary. The 'need' is actually all relative, you will understand.
I use the Micro a much higher angle than I sharpen at, but it does not leave a microbevel, as I verified with marker and loupe. Important to me, as I don't want to spend my time with removing a microbevel which is always an unpleasant job. By the way, I never found any trace of abraded steel on the Micro.
This explains how members of our German counterparts can report using the Micro as a maintenance tool with the Herder 1922 for about a year of home use, before it requires any sharpening or touching-up.