This is the first time I've heard someone say honing is very important, when I was first learning this, I was told that it was the next thing to pseudoscience!

Absolutely not. A blade can stay sharp for a much longer period of time than it can stay honed. The edge of a piece of paper is extremely sharp, but it only cuts you in specific circumstances due to being difficult to maintain a firm edge.

A knife's edge is closer to that than you'd think. At the scales of sharpness of a good knife, it's impossible to keep the edge straight for very long. A honing rod quickly brings these back in line. I hone knives after maybe a week of use; it only takes a few seconds.

And this is a comically easy property to test. Use a "dull" knife then hone it and try again. It will cut drastically better.