Yes, you definitely have to get the 3 star blue item recipes, and as you have noted the Honorable ones aren’t going to cut it. You want to get the gun or the Int mace. Those two are orange till 145 then yellow to 150 (and take 5 Ex each). They both require Revered with Honorbound / 7th Legion.
And of course watch for any Engineering WQs, even if they feel like throwing mats away, a point is a point.