Thread: Eclipse style honing guide advice

I have several honing guides that I use for sharpening demos including genuine Eclipse and the blue painted Chinese knock offs from Ebay; so far the only one that I had to take a file to fix up was a “Trojan” branded red one from Bunnings. Regarding the guide not holding the blade square to the stone only the Trojan didn’t do that; you need to check that the two flat surfaces of the guide are level with each other. If they’re not you can either file the high side down or build the low side up with epoxy. The other thing to check is that the blade is sitting flat on the guide.

It might help to know what chisels and blades you are trying to sharpen are; I have found that the thin Stanley/Record plane blades fit perfectly fine but chisels can be a PITA. Because the chisel is clamped upside down on the upper faces any manufacturing defect in them will cause the chisel to be held out of square. You need to check that the top and bottom faces of the chisel are truly parallel and that the bevel edges have equal angles.

Have you considered getting one of the cheaper wetstone sharpeners? Sheppach, Triton, Record Power etc all make budget 8” models for a fair price and the basic blade holder supplied with the tool is fine for both planes and chisels.

Thanks for your input Chief, the problems with both guides, one a blue Chinese nock off and the other s/steel from Taiwan was the V groove in the bottom chisel holding section was far to small to be effective it was barely big enough to grip a 3'' nail and not much metal take file to and the sides of the clamp were both straight not 1 curved like the Eclipse and not parallel so when tightened they griped the blade at the top not in the centre.
The blades I am using are Stanley/Record plane blades and Berg/Titan/Stanley firmer chisels bevel edge and flat blades with a few odd brands thrown in as well no high end brands or fancy steel.

All I can suggest then is keep an eye out for a genuine Eclipse 36; they pop up in antique shops and flea markets quite regularly. Typically they go for around $20 in the antique shops.

Another useful one is the Record 161; this uses a ball bearing in lieu of a roller and is excellent for cambered and curved blades. The downside is that you unless you are very careful with your technique you end with a cambered blade anyway...

The Toolworks and Lie Nielsen both offer premium eclipse style guides (at a price)

Honing Guide, Extension Jaws, Mortise Jaws & Angle Setting Jig – Henry Eckert Toolworks

https://www.lie-nielsen.com.au/index...egory&path=338

Originally Posted by Rick47

can anyone advise on choice of eclipse style of honing guides.
I have been free handing on oil stone for 60 years and now some body parts don't work and coordinate as well as they used to.
I bought a cheap guide that would not even hold a chisel let alone be able to use as intended, that one went back for a refund I then bought a similar one about 50% more from a reputable dealer that I have brought from in the past that had the same problems, wouldn't hold chisels and couldn't hold blades square to the stones that one went back to.
So can anyone recommend a dealer that has one that will do the job, I have seen clips on utube showing how to improve this style of guide but I would like to start with one that can at least handle the basics.

thanks. Rick.

The problem is related to cost.
A typical Eclipse style guide can be easily modified with a file
watch Bob Vandyke modify his here Modifying an inexpensive honing guide - YouTube

a machined eclipse style guide from Lie Nielsen Lie-Nielsen Honing Guide is AUD $235.

Or if you want a genuine Eclipse guide, let FleaBay be your friend - eg here is one from Dee Why at $30 plus postage:

Vintage Eclipse No 36 Honing Guide | eBay

Thanks for your replies, but I don't want to spend $100.00 plus, I have seen the videos about tuning the guides but the 2 guides I have seen don't seem have enough metal to modify without weakening them, so I am going to keep a lookout for an original Eclipse.

Thanks again. Rick

Originally Posted by Rick47

Thanks for your replies, but I don't want to spend $100.00 plus, I have seen the videos about tuning the guides but the 2 guides I have seen don't seem have enough metal to modify without weakening them, so I am going to keep a lookout for an original Eclipse.

Thanks again. Rick

The original Eclipse on the link in my post above is still available.