Thread: jig for honing chisels and plane blades

I use the $12 jig from carbatec. Works well for getting the right angle. For touch ups I do it freehand ). I wish I had known they (carbatec) had it for $12 before I bought the same thing from bunnings for $24! I would really recommend the $12 jig. I get shisels that will shave hair with that, a $5 oil stone and a piece of cow leather ).

General used to be an American manufacturer back in the 50s and 60s, and was extensively stocked by the old Pauls before they went out of business. I have a few of their tools, mainly measuring and marking out. Good quality stuff but a honing guide at 50 bucks? - tell 'im, 'e's dreamin!
Cheers,
Graeme

try this at Mik

veritas Sharpening System

inc tax: $74.00
ex tax: $67.27

This unique and innovative veritas precision honing guide and angle jig set offers a fast and easy way to produce a very sharp edge on blades. Includes an angle setting jig and a honing guide for the sharpening.

First, use the guide in its normal position to grind the basic bevel angle for the tool. Then, on a fine stone, hone a micro bevel at a slightly different angle, set by a turn of the guide-setting knob. Since the secondary bevel is small, you remove less steel and arrive at a sharp edge quickly and with little effort. This is all done without unclamping or resetting the tool in the guide.
www.mik.com.au

I have one of these and can get a super sharp edge on most blades in around the five miniute mark using diamond lapping plate and then japanese water stones.

I stongly recomend this product its awsome

cheers Ian

hehehhehe, am I the only one who has spent a total of about $20 of sharpening chisels?

Long live the oil stones I say )

mr routermaniac

did you get the honing guide from carbatec or the honing guide with a removable brass roller that can attach to your grinder.?
carbatec 2004 cataloge page 96

farmboy have the one with the fixed roller, used freehand only )

Originally Posted by Farm boy

mr routermaniac

did you get the honing guide from carbatec or the honing guide with a removable brass roller that can attach to your grinder.?
carbatec 2004 cataloge page 96

Get the one with the removable roller. The roller is wider and more stable than the cheaper one when using it on an oil/water stone.

yeah but the narrow roller is better for honing a camber on plane blades. Just press down hard on one side, then the other.

Farm Boy,

Go the Veritas Honing Guide, its worth the $75. Match it with a couple of 'quality waterstones' and it will do the job nicely.

Glen.

Hi
I bought my newer version of the $20.00 general honing guide that folds/bends prior to the other newer jigs from other companies. It offers a controlled movement without rocking sideways like others. It clamps well. I personally for the money think it works great for normal plane irons when using it on a flat surface with wet sandpaper. I have one mortising chisel that I found was too thick near the tang to clamp in the jig though. I had a store employee cut 3 thick 12" x 12" smooth & flat marble floor tiles cut in half allowing for 6 various grits without changing papers. This is placed in a wood framework approx 2 feet long. Two marble stones are used lengthwise one is for the roller assembly to avoid sanding / destroying the plastic wheels the other is for the sandpaper. The wheel assembly can be deliberately raised or lowered by shimming & adjusting center pivot knob & clamp assembly to get slightly different angle.

Farm Boy,
Do a search for grinder gadget as this may help you out for very little cost, It works great and the pics will give you an idea. Pm me if you wish.

Regards Mike

I am a Cabinet maker by trade in 40 years I have never needed a honing gauge, leaning how to sharpen without one will save you $80.

At this late stage in the discussion, I'll just point out that the $12 jig is the functional equivalent of the 'General' Jig, so just point out to your marketeer (or should that be racketeer) that he is asking at least $38 more than the price of a new one, then offer his $5 as you can't get spare parts

I was quite tempted to respond to the original question by writing a short article, something like " the dos and don'ts of sharpening guides". But this would be quite egocentric as everyone - but Everyone! - has an opinion about sharpening guides. It is a bit like discussing religeon or politics. So just a few personal points, most of which I have made many times before.

1. There is a definite place for honing guides, as well as a definite place for freehanding blades. I do both.

2. We basically have three situations to consider: Blades used in bevel up configuration, blades used in bevel down configuration, and microbevel vs flat bevel honing.

3. The advantage of freehand honing is that it feels quick and, for the impatient individual (like myself), it is easier to grab a blade and whip it onto a waterstone (or other preferred sharpening media). The disadvantage of freehand honing is that it actually takes longer overall - over time the bevel is rounded and then one really needs to flatten it with a jig. The process of rounding the blade tends to disguise the fact that the bevel angle has gradually changed (increased).

No this is generally OK if used on bevel down blades, such as in the typical Stanley plane, or used on non-paring bench chisel. In such situations the bevel angle is not critical. The bevel down plane imparts the cutting angle from the back of the blade, which is the leading angle. The angle of the bevel only affects the durability of the bevel (also its penetration - not the issue here), and the plane will work whatever the bevel angle it has (up to a point - the higher the bevel angle, the less clearance, and eventually the blade will stop working).

Bottom line: if you are working bevel down, and are using thin blades (see later), then freehand honing is fine. I do this all the time.

4. The advantage of a guide is twofold - it provides accuracy, and this leads to ease of reproducing a previous bevel angle, and this leads to faster honing (as one is not creating a new bevel each time).

5. For bevel up planes, and for specialist chisels (e.g. paring- or mortice chisels), the angle of the bevel is Critical. The bevel angle actually defines how the tool will work. For example, a bevel up plane with a 37 degree cutting angle (i.e a 25 degee bevel on a 12 degree bed) will cutt markedly differently than one cutting at 62 degrees. Try this on difficult grain and you will find out very quickly! Similarly, the lower the bevel angle, the greater the ease of penetration into the wood. Therefore paring chisels, which are pushed by hand, have a low angle, typically of 20 degrees. At the other end of the spectrum one has mortice chisels, which are Hammered and need a durable edge. These will need a bevel angle of 30-35 degrees.

The higher the bevel angle on chisels, the less one needs to be obsessional about accuracy of bevel angle (if you are in the ball park that is usually enough). And vice versa - as the bevel angle intentionally reduces, so it becomes more important to hone with care.

6. A further introduction is the use of microbevels to speed up sharpening. Again, on a bevel down plane this is less critical, but on a bevel up blade this is all-important.

So we come to choice of honing guide. Which to buy - the Carba-tec cheapie or the LV superduper (LV Honing Guide Mk II)?

I have not used all the guides available, but have used quite a number. I do have a lot of insiders information about the LV (I have worked on the pre-production prototypes as well as researching and reviewing the production model), and this does bias me somewhat - hopefully to your advantage.

There is a world of difference between the LV Mk II and other Look-a-likes. For a start, the LV is vastly better made (and its price reflects this), not just in construction, but also in being a complete package. As it stands, the basic Mk II will do just about everything one needs - wide and narrow blades, quick to set up, accurate, easy to hold, very wide range of preset bevel angles. Not on the market yet, but definitely coming, are clamp-on guides for skew blades and for radiused blades. At this point you can access an article I wrote:

Advanced Angles on the Lee Valley Honing Guide Mk II

I do not wish to imply that the LV Mk II is perfect. It is not. It is the best compromise available at this time. For example, it is optimised for the novice blade sharpener and, in this guise, is about foolproof. For the more advanced sharpener it a little limiting (but only just, and this is overcome as well with either the correct accessory or technique). For example, the guide has a very wide wheel and, for some, this is too stable since it prevents one honing a radiused blade. It will create a super straight blade. Isn't that what we seek? Well, not for smoothers, where we want to feather the edges of the shavings to avoid tracklines.

And what of the Carba-tec, etc? There is nothing wrong with these guides. They all work (again within the range of their limitations), and with a few of you own add-on accessories (such as a bevel angle setter), then they can be made to do a fine job (still within the range of their limitations). It all depends what you want, or are prepared to accept, or to outlay in $$, for the honing guide of your dreams.

Open for discussion...

Regards from Perth

Derek