I bought a sharpening jig

[Jacob]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STANLEY-HONIN ... 0885938775

Just to prove that I'm open minded!

I've had others (all rubbish) but I've never had one of these. It struck me that this is the one design which will work on my hollowed and neglected stones. :roll: I'll report back.
My theory is that they are all rubbish and each improvement (Mk II, III, etc) makes things worse. So as this one is the first and simplest it must also be the best.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Just to prove that I'm open minded!

My theory is that they are all rubbish and each improvement (Mk II, III, etc) makes things worse.

That's a version of open mindedness about which I was previously unaware

However....baby steps and all that...nice one Jacob, I look forward to how you get on with it.

 

[iNewbie]

Its going to be rubbish. The end.

 

[bugbear]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STANLEY-HONING-GUIDE-/380885938775

Just to prove that I'm open minded!

I've had others (all rubbish) but I've never had one of these. It struck me that this is the one design which will work on my hollowed and neglected stones. :roll: I'll report back.
My theory is that they are all rubbish and each improvement (Mk II, III, etc) makes things worse. So as this one is the first and simplest it must also be the best.

Let me know how well your chisels work with it.

Edit: found the patent, 1945, so certainly not the first:

http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicat ... &KC=A&ND=4

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STANLEY-HONING-GUIDE-/380885938775

Just to prove that I'm open minded!

I've had others (all rubbish) but I've never had one of these. It struck me that this is the one design which will work on my hollowed and neglected stones. :roll: I'll report back.
My theory is that they are all rubbish and each improvement (Mk II, III, etc) makes things worse. So as this one is the first and simplest it must also be the best.

Let me know how well your chisels work with it.

BugBear

Well yes it's losing marks already and it hasn't even arrived.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

and its doing that how exactly....

 

[matthewwh]

Have you ever thought of trying one of these new fangled hollow morticing chisels Jacob?

I find that the handle part is miles too small and very uncomfortable, they marr up the face of the mallet horribly and the corners snap off when you lever out the waste. Load of old toot if you ask me.....

 

[Jacob]

ho ho.
I've been using one for many years. Powered by electricity. I've often wondered about the un-powered variety since I saw one in a museum.

Looks like a good idea.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Like this one?

reynolds-hand-morticer-c-1875-t61547.html?hilit=hand morticer

 

[matthewwh]

I used to have one like that

They do work beautifully, same technique as hand morticing but the chisel is squeezed in rather than bashed. Once you get the knack of chomping with one hand and slowly advancing the table with the other it's really quick - down the stairs, rotate the chisel and go back the other way - done!

 

[Jacob]

I've never had the pleasure but what they demonstrate really well is that you don't have to lever anything when you are morticing. By hand just the same - the chisel vertical all the time with the single exception of cleaning out the corners of a blind mortice - when the leverage of the rounded bevel comes into use.

I was going to comment on the stanley jig I bought. I can't be bothered to even try it out it's just so boring and pointless!

 

[bugbear]

I was going to comment on the stanley jig I bought. I can't be bothered to even try it out it's just so boring and pointless!

Another fair minded test ... go on, tell us what you really think, other wise you've wasted a fiver. (*)

BugBear

(*) that type goes for 50p at car boot sales, I wish I'd known Jacob was in the market at a fiver.

 

[matthewwh]

I had a feeling that might happen.

 

[Jacob]

OK then I had a go this morning.
It's easy to fit and self aligns in the slot of a Stanley plane blade. Might be a prob with older blades - do they have wider slots? And won't do chisels.
It seemed to be worn (loose wheel on the axle) but in fact the angle gauge was spot on near enough.
Yes it works - and on less than flat stones. No stone flattening required. Very easy to apply a camber.
No prob turning it over to flatten the face and remove the burr, without having to take off the gadget.
Better than I expected. Much better than Eclipse or later Stanley models in terms of convenience and efficacy.
So why are they not widely used by the training wheel dependent set? Dunno.

NB BB going on about a fiver - it's worth a fiver to not have to drive and spend half a day at a car boot staring at piles of junk. Better things to do.

PS Answering my own question "why are not widely used" - maybe they do actually work as "training" wheels and after a few goes anyone with half a brain can see how to do it without the gadget, in which case perhaps they are a good thing. :shock:

Compare and contrast this astonishing gibberish http://www.veritastools.com/Content/Ass ... 01AI-2.pdf

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That link doesn't.

 

[AndyT]

That link doesn't.

Link works fine for me - it's the 12 page pdf of instructions for the Veritas Mk.II Honing Guide.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

That link doesn't.

Link works just fine.

Well at least you tried it Jacob. You also gave it a reasonable review all things considered.

 

[Corneel]

Jacob is of course completely right in this respect. Freehand honing is an essential skill for a woodworker, and using a jig for the easy straight bits is only postponing the moment when you have to learn it anyway. Practice makes perfect, so beter practice on chisels and planeblades first, before you need it for gouges, bradawls, router planes, deeply cambered scrubplanes, knifes, etc, etc, etc.

And the Mk2 is an especially expensive and overengineered clumsy, faulty and overweight bit of kit. When a beginner wants to postpone freehand sharpening a bit ( I can understand that, did it too myself when I didn't know any better) I would advice the Eclipse type. It's cheap, actually works and doesn't take too much time.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Strange - the link works in Chrome but not Firefox.

 

[Vann]

Strange - the link works in Chrome but not Firefox.

Must be your computer or ISP - I use Firefox and it worked for me.

Cheers, Vann.