skew dovetail chisel question

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tomthumbtom8

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Ive only gone and treated myself to a pair of 12 mm skew chisels.

but now I'm panicking on how to sharpen them with a honing jig

is there a honing jig on the market for a skew dovetail jig ??

skew chisel I have bought a left and right
 
I haven't tried this yet, but the Veritas honing guide with the skew registration jig is supposed to work well with skew chisels.

Veritas Honing Guide Set, £108.00 from Axminster

Veritas Skew Registration Jig, £29.10 from Axminster

For the very wealthy, the Sharp Skate 4 is supposed to do a good job as well.

Sharp Skate 4, €259.00 from Dictum in Germany.

There is also the Lie-Nielsen honing guide and 30-degree left and right jaws.

Lie Nielsen Honing Guide, £126.95 from Axminster

Lie Nielsen 30-degree Right Jaw Pair, £35.99 from Axminster

Lie Nielsen 30-degree Left Jaw Pair, £35.99 from Axminster

I don't know how well the LN honing guide and skew blocks will work with the Narex chisels, since it appears the Narex chisel does not have a continuous side edge from tip to ferrule. I had a problem using my LN honing guide on my Blue Spruce dovetail chisels and had to improvise. The LN honing guide is designed to work with a chisel that has a uniform thickness and side bevel along the blade.
 
I think Phil is right, it's not a problem, and not worth spending hundreds of pounds on.

If you really want a jig, you could always make one yourself.
Find a block of wood eg an offcut of 3x2 studding. Cut a pair of angled slots, one in each side, so that when you put a chisel into a slot the honed edge is coplanar with the surface. Cut the slots with a handsaw by making two sawcuts and chiselling out the waste. Make them wider than the thickness of the chisels and use a wedge to hold a chisel in place.
Then just rub your stone across the flat surface. It won't wear down the wood or get clogged by it.
 
MikeK":2giw77g5 said:
I haven't tried this yet, but the Veritas honing guide with the skew registration jig is supposed to work well with skew chisels.

Veritas Honing Guide Set, £108.00 from Axminster

Veritas Skew Registration Jig, £29.10 from Axminster

For the very wealthy, the Sharp Skate 4 is supposed to do a good job as well.

Sharp Skate 4, €259.00 from Dictum in Germany.

There is also the Lie-Nielsen honing guide and 30-degree left and right jaws.

Lie Nielsen Honing Guide, £126.95 from Axminster

Lie Nielsen 30-degree Right Jaw Pair, £35.99 from Axminster

Lie Nielsen 30-degree Left Jaw Pair, £35.99 from Axminster

I don't know how well the LN honing guide and skew blocks will work with the Narex chisels, since it appears the Narex chisel does not have a continuous side edge from tip to ferrule. I had a problem using my LN honing guide on my Blue Spruce dovetail chisels and had to improvise. The LN honing guide is designed to work with a chisel that has a uniform thickness and side bevel along the blade.

To this list I would add, Record Edge Tool Honer No.161. If you can find one.
Record only seem to have made them for a few years in the late 50's- early 60's.
They work similar to the Eclipse guide, but have a ball bearing, rather than a roller, meaning that any angle, and even cambered blades, by altering the pressure points can be sharpened.

Bod
 
I have a pair of skews: I only ever need them very occasionally for that last tiny bit in the corner.

They're re-ground 1/4" chisels from Bristol Designs's odd chisels bin - bought totally blunt for their length and reasonably good handles. I think both together cost me about 15 quid.

The grind was easy on my Tormekkalike, and I hone using an inexpensive, aluminium, own-brand Axminster roller guide that's intended for plane irons. It has a wide, slightly cambered brass roller, and a flat plate on top, with a rubber-faced hold-down clamp. The chisel goes diagonally across it, following a pencil line put on with a mitre gauge (and a protractor). That serves well.
Narex-honing-guide-8949001.jpg

(a link to a 'Get Woodworking' tiny review)
Axminster don't seem to sell that guide any more, which is a shame as they are handy for all sorts of awkward things, but they're on eBay and Amazon under the "Narex" brand. The cheapest I saw them today was about 20 quid (Amazon), but an image search might yield a bargain, as I'm sure they are Chinese, made in quantity and sold under many names.

I didn't want 45 degrees, as the pointy corner becomes too fragile, so they're a bit less than 60.

It works. They hold a good edge. I don't fuss but just use them as needed.

E.

PS: I use the same guide to do the irons for my little side rebate plane - those are much more tricky, as they aren't what they seem - skewed in two axes, and they're really short.
 
I dont get this argument. If you are sharpening free hand there is no problem to begin with. There is nothing harder about freehanding a skew edge.
 
Eric The Viking":2l97ttum said:
Unless, like me, you don't really have fine motor control any more in your hands. My fingers no longer bend in the right, normal ways, either.

Then a jig is very helpful indeed.
But wouldn't holding a handle be easier than holding a jig?
 
I hollow grind all blades, including skew chisels. This makes freehand honing super easy. Just hone on the hollow.

If you wish to use a honing guide, then the Veritas Mark 1 is the cheapest (the Mk II is more versatile but significantly more expensive).

05M0210L.jpg


The top clamp allow the blade to be skewed.

Regards from Perth

Derek
 
Half inch skew chisel is exceptionally easy to sharpen freehand (may take 5 minutes to get the hang of it if you haven't done it before) and should never need grinding unless it's been damaged.
 
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