Hone counters can be put on any Equipment and each one will grant +1/+0 to that Equipment's equipped creature, even if the Equipment the hone counters are on doesn't reference hone counters or have an ability that puts them on itself.

The power boost applies only while the Equipment with hone counters is attached to a creature. If an Equipment with hone counters on it becomes unattached from a creature, leaves the battlefield, or has its hone counters removed, the power of the creature changes immediately.

A creature equipped by an Equipment with hone counters on it gets +1/+0 for each hone counter on that Equipment. This effect is from the counter itself rather than an ability on the Equipment, so even if the Equipment loses some of its abilities, each hone counter will still grant +1/+0 to the creature.