Blade/Chisel Honing Guides

[Markw]

I'm looking to purchase a blade/chisel honing guide.

What should I look for and what are just gimmicks?

Recommendations appreciated :confused:

[craigb]

How much do you want to spend?

If not much, then go for one of the grey metal ones that you can get from a hardware store for about 15 bucks.

If you want to spend more, then go for the Veritas. Carbatec, MIK and Timbecon all stock them.

[Markw]

Craig
Dollars are not the real concern, accuracey, ease of use, and quality are more important

[craigb]

Go the Veritas then. I don't own one, but I believe that you can also use it in a grinder rest.

[mat]

The problem with the cheap one's is the way they hold the chisel. They grip the sides. The chisel thickness in most cases is greater than the slot in the jig. I gave up on those and bought the Veritas jig, it holds with a brass screw on the back of the chisel - works well :)

[Sprog]

I purchased the Deluxe Honing Guide from Timbecon.
It can hold wide blades and has a wide roller for good support.
Works well and is reasonably priced.


Honing Guide (http://www.timbecon.com.au/productsdetail.asp?sectid=12557&parentid=12480&prodid=27608)

[DaveInOz]

I use a stanley guide
what I like
- it has a wide wheel so it is stable even with narrow chisels. The combination of a narrow wheel and a narrow chisel promotes rocking from side to side (compare a bicycle to a tricycle, the blade is the front wheel).
- It clamps from the top so it won't deform wide thin blades, and it is guaranteed flat across its width.
- cheap and available at Mitre 10 and Bunnies

What I don't like
- it is difficult to get the blade perfectly straight in the jig, and keep it that way during sharpening (this won't occur with side clamps, but then you have the flat problem)

hope this makes you choise more 'educated' :)

[craigb]

I purchased the Deluxe Honing Guide from Timbecon.
It can hold wide blades and has a wide roller for good support.
Works well and is reasonably priced.


Honing Guide (http://www.timbecon.com.au/productsdetail.asp?sectid=12557&parentid=12480&prodid=27608)

That looks very similar to the Veritas. However it is considerably cheaper.

[Driver]

I've had the Veritas unit (which doesn't look like the Timbecon design, incidentally, Craig) for about 18 months. It's got a good, wide roller so it tracks nice and straight and doesn't wobble. Its big advantage is that it comes with a jig that lets you set up the blade or chisel to a precise angle (the jig has pre-sets at 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 degrees).

I've found it really useful and quick to set up. Spent a couple of hours over the weekend sharpening a load of plane blades and chisels using the Veritas guide.

Col

[craigb]

(which doesn't look like the Timbecon design, incidentally, Craig)
Col
Oh well, as I say I don't own one. Thought they looked similar in the pictures I've seen. :cool:

[MOM]

I would go for the Veritas kit (the guide and the "other bit" that sets the angle). A significant advantage is that it has an adjustment, which is difficult to describe in words, but which permits the selection of a second bevel of exactly 1, 2, 3 or 4 degrees.

Michael O’M

[Markw]

Thank you all - will go for the Veritas one

[LineLefty]

A bit late on this one, but I've also got the timbecon deluxe one. Or should I say had the timbecon deluxe one. Not sure if anyoen else has had this problem but the roller got all gummied up with scary sharp water/metaldust and stopped rolling all of a sudden. Unfortunately I was going like the clappers at the time and hined a nice flat part on the roller, which is now useless. :(

I cant work out how to get the roler out to clean it. Keep that in mind!

[Driver]

Glen Bridger read my comments above on the Veritas honing guide and asked me by PM to comment on what method and equipment I use for initial sharpening etc.

The answer is that I use the Scary Sharp method. To cut a primary bevel on anything that is fairly blunt (old chisels, for example, or a blade with a serious nick in it), I use the Veritas guide to set the angle and then grind an edge using a coarse diamond stone. This cuts quickly and evenly.

After that, I use sandpaper, stuck to a sheet of 10 mm thick plate glass, in progressive grits of: 240, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1200 and 2000.

For re-honing, I continue to use the Veritas guide and polish the back and bevel with (usually) the final three grits above.

This system works quite well.

Recently, I bought a couple of water stones: 1200 and 6000 grit. I've used them very little so far so I don't have anything useful to add to the debate on the difference between scary sharp and water stones. (Work in progress!).

Line Lefty: re your problems with the roller getting gunged up: this can happen with any system where a roller is coming into contact with water. I have found that it pays to be scrupulous about drying the roller after use and spraying the spindle and bearings with a blast of WD40 or similar.

Regards

Col

[silentC]

this can happen with any system where a roller is coming into contact with water

That's why I use a block of 4x2 instead. Much more stable than a roller, no moving parts to pack it in and most of all, cheap!! Only works with scary sharp though because the block slides on the glass. If you tried to use it on a stone, the block would wear out very quickly.

[Ben from Vic.]

I have the Veritas and have no problems with it.

But just for arguments sake, I thought I'd post a pic of this little beautie I found. It looks very stable and was deigned for use with short blades.

It was deigned by a guy named Richard Kell (a Google should bring up more info).



Ben.

[Glen Bridger]

To Col,

Thanks very much for your reply on sharpening. I'll have to look more into this "Scary Sharp" method, although it does seem to be a long manual process.

Thanks,

Glen.

[Driver]

To Col,

Thanks very much for your reply on sharpening. I'll have to look more into this "Scary Sharp" method, although it does seem to be a long manual process.

Thanks,

Glen.

Glen

It really isn't. I mentioned that I spent a couple of hours over the previous weekend sharpening plane and chisel blades. To be a bit more precise: that was slightly longer then 2 hours and I honed 12 plane blades of various sizes and 5 chisels in that time. (Stopping to have a coffee, chat to various members of the family, scratch me bum etc, etc :) )

Once you've done the initial work, flattening and polishing the backs of blades and shaping and honing the cutting angle on the faces, the process of re-honing doesn't take long at all. Give it a go!

Col

[silentC]

It's the initial work that's the killer. Once you've got the bevel right, touching it up takes no time. I sat down with a couple of blades last night. One was out of my Stanley #4, which I'd already done scary sharp previously. It just took a few minutes through the grades to get it back again.

The other was the blade out of my Stanley #78, which I'd only ever sharpened on the grinder and oilstone in the past. I worked on this one for about an hour and I hadn't finished it before I was called up for the nightcap.

Derek mentioned those mesh sanding sheets used for finishing Gyprock joints. He said he had sucessfully used one to flatten his King brand waterstones. I tried one last night as the first grade in the scary sharp method and it worked very well. I soaked it in water and slapped it onto a marble chopping board that I use for lapping. The holes in the mesh hold the water and give the swarf somewhere to go and being wet it stuck down pretty well too. It did a nice quick job of removing a heap of material. Also used it to lap the sole and sides of the #78.