Honing rods do not sharpen knives, they hone, aka realign the edge. As you use your knife, the fine leading blade edge rolls and flattens. A honing rod essentially realigns your fine edge without removing metal (sharpening removes metal, and is necessary for when the sharp edge is gone, not just bent!)
Sharpening too much will shorten the life of your blade— you’re literally whittling it away each time—and most home cooks don’t actually need to sharpen more than a few times a year.