Thread: Honing Guides

Originally Posted by Burnsy

I am about to buy a honing guide and see that Timbecon have the basic torquata on special for $9.90. I have seen this or a similar guide in Derek Cohen's hands in a photo so they can't be worthless and seem like a good place to start for me.

http://www.timbecon.com.au/products/...des-383_0.aspx

I have not purchased yet so don't know what the length of the "opposite" side is on this guide but would like to kow what the different "hypontenuse" lengths are for the most fequently used honing angles for planes and chisels and where these lengths are measured from when placing a blade into the guide. I might be wrong but from the picture on the site, the torquata looks like it has two different bed heights for chisels and wider plane blades so would therefore have two different "opposite" side heights.

I was wondering if anyone has done the geometry on this guide, or any others that they would care to share or maybe a real neat excel spreadsheet that will work it out for me if I plug in my opposite side lengths and required angles?

I have one of these guides and I use it all the time .
The lengths are embossed on the side of the guid for 30deg and 25deg and are measured from the face of the guide.
It can accomodate chisels and plane irons .
My only criticisim is the roller is a bit narrow and you need to make sure you dont tip the guide while your honing.

They work fine for honing run of the mill plane irons & chisels, Burnsy.

Just need to take care ensuring the blade is square in the jig when tightening up, mainly an issue with plane irons.

Don't cater for tapered chisels, & struggle with japanese chisels apparently. No good for spokeshave blades, unless you attach a metal bracket or somesuch to the blade to temporarily "lengthen" the blade for sharpening.

Wouldn't bother with the spreadsheet, just use the projections stamped on the guide and/or the existing bevel on your tools as a starting point, and once you have a projection decided - attach a scrap of wood that distance from the edge of your sharpening bench. Put the tool down edge against the scrap, butt the guide up to the edge of your bench & tighten up. Repeatable & no measuring needed.


Cheers..................Sean

.... sharpening bench??

Think I'll have to take lessons from Schtoo in origami workshops.

I purchased the stanley version and had no trouble for many yrs using the methods described above but it now sits in the box since I got the veratis. I love being able to put a micro bevel on a blade with a turn of a knob. It also feels smoother and steadier.

Originally Posted by rat52

I purchased the stanley version and had no trouble for many yrs using the methods described above but it now sits in the box since I got the veratis. I love being able to put a micro bevel on a blade with a turn of a knob. It also feels smoother and steadier.

The Veritas is in the wish list but at $80 it will have to wait a bit. The idea of the Torquata for me is just an entry level guide until I can justify the need for and expense of the Veritas.

That Torquata is a re-badged Eclipse. It is also sold by Lie Nielson, probably because it is championed by David Charlesworth. It was the first decent honing guide on the market many, many years ago. It has advantages and disadvantages in its design, which are irrelevant here since, at the $9.90 price, it is a bargain. The best on the market is the LV Mk II.

Regards from Perth

Derek