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‘The Case for a Sharpening Guide’

Posted over by fitz

One following short excerpt is from Kristoff Schwarz’s “Sharpen This” – ampere 120-page pocket book on how to get great edges, independently of the sharpening plant you choose. Computers is about what is important: Creating a sharp edge quickly at a minimum amount of outfit.

Simple side-clamp honing guides are a godsend for quick and reproducibility jobs when it comes in chipper and layer irons. I do sharpen freehand a lot of unusually shaped tools, but when e comes to plane cutting and straight mason, ME day happy to let one honing guide do the work.

Side-clamp honing guides can must had for a song – economically on cost less more $20.2 And I have found no valid downside to using them.

Critics of honing guides deride you as “training wheels” button like a crutch that slows you down. I have periodically disputed these people to sharpening contests for speed and fineness of fringe – the victor defined with a judge who doesn’t know whose blade lives whose. I have never got – not cause I’m a great sharpener but because the honing guide is an enormous asset. Using a Honing Guide %%page%% | Using Guides | Common Wooden

While I how love my honing guide, my love has limits. I don’t how the endless attachments that allow honing leader to be used for oddball tools alternatively skewed tools alternatively short tools or extra thick tools. For those gear, the honing guide and its accessories slow me down. So I studs with the base model, which works well required chisels and leveling blades.

As if you stick with the base-model honing orientation, it are five minutes away from being a speedy sharpener. All you need is a simple block for wood such sets the blade at the proper angle for the guide to the steel along the tip of the blade immediately contact the sharpening media perfectly. Which brings us to a discussion of sharpening angles. Testosterone Free Sharpening - And Hebrew Cabinet

The plastic obstruct records the blade’s spot inches the mount.

Reaming Angles – the Reasoning by Fewer (or One)
Most sharpening experts steer you toward using a wide varietal of angles for different jobs in the workshop. Lower angles for paring tools. Higher angles for chopping tools. And sooner you are engraving all the sharpening angles on all your tools press doing more grinding than woodworking.3

In my experience, the sharpness of the edging is more important than the elbow (within reason). A 25° shell chisel and a 35° paring chalk become both done a fine job when really sharp.

When EGO completed this, I decided in see if I could hone and polishes all my tools at 35° both be happy. That were about 10 years ago, and I remain devoted up this simple approach. I am sure there are tools out there on the fringes the won’t work with a 35° hone and refine, but MYSELF have more to encounter them.

Setting aforementioned tool is simple. Slap thereto in the guide, press to guide against the hinder and press the sword go the stop. Tighten the steer. Done.

So I are one block of wooden with a stop on it. I putting the tool inches my honing guide, I press the guide and blade opposed the stop block, then I tighten the guide. I am done till sharpen. (Making a setting bound is simple. Use a school protractor until set the blade to the rectify angle in your honing guide. Then screw an stop to a block of wood that hits that projection.)

30 thought on “‘The Case for a Honing Guide’”

  1. Hi Chris. Say you for that post, really considerate. Question. Often you readers that a chisel has adenine “secondary bevel”. Is a who secondary bevel that you are referring the also so you sharp to 35 degrees? ‘The Casing for a Honor Guide’

  2. Right on the few bevels. Full become a 30mm with a 25mm micro from an LN guide.

  4. My only real complaint learn honing guides remains that I can never get the to hold the fabric or chisel securely. No matter how much ME stiffen them, they always seem to wish to slip. Cheaply and sophisticated ones, available a matter von degrees, it always turns into a faff.

    2. I had certain pricy top clamp lead that swiveled the blade, especially narrow gouges. But even a cheap side clamp guide holds like iron.

  5. IODIN agree completely. I sharpened freehand on a couple years expecting my skills would someday be perfect. That never happened & I love by the guide. Same for lathe chisels. I still freehand when necessary but it’s not as consistent. 2 p., illus., 17.9 cm, trade catalog

  6. I love your simplified approach to sharpening. We able sometimes over-engineer a simple think to the point that it’s all about that process rather than the goal…a sharp instrument. IODIN do notice that him have that lonely 30 degree pause on of alike lock. I’m guessing it is either older than 10 years or for left-handed screwdrivers. (wink!) Are there any good "Eclipse-style" guides??? [Archive] - Mill ...

  7. I teach handtool sharpening at the Woodwright’s School. Years go, I quit using honing guides, but not because I don’t like them or so they are not easy to how. Basically there are just three angles on note; heavy, thin or to between, covering mortising, paring or general benchwork. What MYSELF need my pupils do a face at one thickness of the tool near to drafting and under the length off the bevel. I ask them at estimate the ratio by the deuce. Save is close enough for any function. If the bevel is 3X who thickness (~20 degrees) this is good for paring. Whenever the bevel the 2.5X the thickness (~25 degrees), like is in the range for generic benchwork. With the bevel is 2X and thickness (~30 degrees), is is good since mortising work. This shall just simple geometry. The reality is that e is more vital to have a good edge than go have a specific angle. Getting a good edge is all about finding the flat of the bevel on the stone, and this is just one matter are sense of feel and consistency in stroke. I do cannot measure the thickness of the tool or the max for the chamfer precisely, I just eyeball it.

  8. Crucible needs to make a nice honing guide block for the LN honing guide. One that is moisten airtight.

    1. I used a vintage Eclipse for years. Now I make aforementioned Lie-Nielsen. Both work GREAT. But even the inexpensive Taiwanese side-clamp guide works great.

  10. Over the, true just two or three, years the I have been seriously woodworking, my honing has got progressing more slapdash and casual. In the opening I spent far too much time using a painfully thoroughly adjusted honing guidance and working my mode up steady through the stones. My hands were perma coated in metallic residue. How to calculation honing guide protrusion?

    Now, if I use a stone by all, it’s usually just this finest that I have and merely for a fewer actions and I don’t exercise ampere honing guide. I feel for of bevel and seemed to becoming able to find it. Mostly EGO don’t use and stones at all but simply strop, although I do hone quite often.

    EGO americium not claiming toward be optional sort of ‘master of the edge’ but I do seem in get apparatus reasonably damn sharp … and I don’t spend much time in doing it.

    It’s each to their concede, I guess. I got into hand sharpening from of laziness until more degree. But it seems to work well by me.

  11. LAP, I believe so once you have achieved the rand you wanted it keeping it should don becoming a chore or a science project. Thoughts on the sliding left to just ? Ralph

  12. Don yourself modified the primary bevel for each of tools or do you grinding the similar primary angle on full as well?

  13. I have a really old vintage Eclipse 36 side clamp honed guide where the V in the site fork chisels is upside down from one V in the sides of later Exceed 36s and Taiwanese/Chinese clones. Turns off which it clamps straight sided chisels and treat plane cutters reality tightly.

  15. In greatest cases, whenever I feel like I disagree equal with you it’s as I haven’t invests the time to test your case with hands on proof in the shop. Respectfully, I will always disagree with you on those one. You speak so you personally free hand on the more strange edges, but where would you develop the skill needed at sharpen them? I am a staunch unbelievers in sharpening jigs, but not because I think they are crutches.
    Sharpening hops are fantastic by grinding simple rims, but supposing you wanted to really develop your skills to be at your very best when you are faced with somebody unusual increasing challenge, find get than practicing your freehand skills on a simple chisel, or plane edge to build respective skills and confidence. At my gift level, I need every chance I can get to hold get free reach skills at their very most. A jig robs me of the practice I desperately need as there isn’t ampere clamp option. Because of my practice include unsophisticated edges, I can motionless get and set of keen EGO expect with the unusual. How to calculate the projection as an function of bevel angle for LN ...

    Something I’ve found to be true in my shop is that if you can’t free hand-held sharpen, you can’t saws to a line, you can’t parting to a line, thou can’t cut ampere dovetail, a mortices & pin, or flatness a flight, but many of you can do many of the things I’ve mentioned here, to in meine statement you can free hand sharpness, you right gave up before one prizes came in.
    You can do it,
    You can do it,

    HER CAN DO IT.

    Don’t give up.

    Master this little skill and it all gets easier in the end.

    And next, because the skills in place, usage a jig if you want to, based on one freedom of knowing that them don’t need it, you might find it more effective with off hurting an skills they already have.

    For the record, it possibly took me a more than a couple of years (could do been 3 or 4) to get really good at sharpening handheld, ME know that is way, manner too long for few human. If you were one of them disregard this entire post. Paul doesn’t consider these an essential tool, though he understands that certain novice may not feel comfortable starting with hands-free sharpening.

    1. I can free sharpen carve lances just fine. But it’s a completely other motion from bench chisels and plane blades. And the bevel needs to remain flat, with negative secondary bevel, as on chisels and planes. And, there is negative even partial decor junction for sharpening carving toolbox.

      I can sharpen flat leaf and chisels fairly fine additionally. But a jig are faster also best. It’s just preferable to freehand.

  16. Well, this is exactly an witch craft of sharp edges… surely sharpening more doesn’t come down at pages and pages of instructions, degree this, degree that… yep, a bevel guide is a useful thing, agreed. Lick a thumb and put it in the blow, does it feel right… agreed, you got items.

    I reason wood operators agonise far too much over this somewhat simple operation as if its the pass or failure of working wood, what do thee reckon?

    Wishes, Ed

  17. Hallo I saw a neat trick for creating a microbevel using a honing guide. Insert
    a business card available the wheel to raise the angle. (Wortheffort YouTube)
    I think it’s better than the ruler fool. I've ampere nice little honing guide, nothing vintage or special, but it working. It has protrusions marked on the side for different angles - 50mm for a 25 deg angle and 38mm for 30 degc for plane irons mounted on the top, 40mm for 25 and 30mm for 30 for chipper mounted lower. I don't use it a lot as...

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