Re: What to do about blowby
I have never had any luck reusing old piston rings. I know a lot of people that do it, though. If I don't have to pull the piston out of an engine, I don't. If I have to, I replace the rings. The rings are probably one of the cheapest parts you can get for an engine. Unless, of course, you're working on something with a huge bore. If I were you, I would get a new set of rings and lightly hone the cylinder to break the glaze, if there is any, since you said you honed it not long ago. You should also check the side clearance of the rings in the grooves. If that is excessive, compression can leak around the back side of the rings.
Some engines are funny when it comes to blowby. I have a Fairbanks headless "Z" that has no blowby sometimes and other times you'd wonder if it had rings in it at all! I think there is a multitude of things going on in my engine, such as, worn piston, worn ring grooves, the cylinder probably has taper and is out of round. I did just recently renew the wrist pin, and it seems to have helped it a lot by possibly keeping the piston a little more true in the cylinder instead of letting do it's own thing due to the sloppy wrist pin and bushing. These are my experiences, take them for what they're worth.
Happy holidays!
Mike