Honing Guide

[Mikegtr]

There are a lot of honing guides to choose from--cheap to expensive. Before I buy what have you tried & liked?

 

[sammy.se]

I made one using a small block of oak, and I bought a cheap £8 one (faithful branded i think).
The block, overall, is better.
The faithful one I had to spend an hour filing and fettling to get it to hold chisels and plane blades firmly.

I think, from my experience, if I were to buy one, I would buy an expensive one (like Veritas).

Bare in mind, that many will advocate freehand sharpening, which is fine for some, but I personally get on much better with a honing guide

 

[sammy.se]

Here is the Faithful one I bought, which I don't recommend.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000X2935S/

Here are photos of the block version (which someone on the forum suggested) which I do recommend.

 

[woodbloke66]

I've tried a few and all have their plus and minus points. The original Eclipse is quite good, but taken to it's ultimate form in the LN version which is fine for LN stuff and similar, but useless for Japanese chisels. I also used for many years the Richard Kell guides from WH which again are good, but take a bit of getting used to. Currently I use the Veritas MKII which is IMO is just about unbeatable as it will handle everything you throw at it. I use it currently on the SS 3M films from WH; works fine - Rob

 

[Fitzroy]

Another Veritas Mk2 user here. Find I can use it for about everything.

Fitz.

 

[David C]

I have used the Eclipse 36 guide for about 45 years now.

I think it is much the best place to start, and the far eastern copy ( Axminster) is only about ten to twelve pounds. Make sure it is the grey one not blue.

Best wishes,
David Charlesworth

 

[SammyQ]

Good evening David. I know you are the master of brevity as well as an infrequent poster, but...could you please expand on why "not blue"?

Just curious, Sam.

 

[David C]

Sam,
The blue guide is Faithful, very badly made!
David

 

[SammyQ]

Ah! Understood! Thank you.

Sam

 

[sammy.se]

Sam,
The blue guide is Faithful, very badly made!
David

+1 million.

I bought that. Rubbish. Had to fettle and file to make it half usable. Now I've invested time into it i'm loathed to replaced it - for now...
the block of oak and two screws I used before I bought it was better

 

[Robbo3]

Just bought a Veritas Mk 2 second hand off this forum.
It's a much better jig than the Eclipse, Stanley & Veritas Mk1.
Easy to set up with consistent settings which makes life much easier for those of us that are incompetent or don't need to sharpen regularly

 

[transatlantic]

I've tried a few and all have their plus and minus points. The original Eclipse is quite good, but taken to it's ultimate form in the LN version which is fine for LN stuff and similar, but useless for Japanese chisels. I also used for many years the Richard Kell guides from WH which again are good, but take a bit of getting used to. Currently I use the Veritas MKII which is IMO is just about unbeatable as it will handle everything you throw at it. I use it currently on the SS 3M films from WH; works fine - Rob

Except japanese plane blades

Well it kind of does work, you just have to use a different squareing/depth guide.

 

[transatlantic]

It's quite interesting that Axminster haven't decided to make the modifications everyone recommends to their version of the Eclipse honing guide. Now you might say, it's not their version, it's just rebadged stuff from the same factory. But even so, you usually see differences between brands in these situations, so it doesn't seem out of the question for them to change the specification slightly.

It's also interesting that the cheap knock off on Wish DOES have the modifications.

Axminster

Wish

 

[Doug B]

Another vote for the Veritas MK11, I’ve tried most guides over the years but the MK11 is without doubt my favourite

 

[David C]

I think there is something seriously wrong with the shape of the chisel slots, on the Wish guide seen above?

David Charlesworth

 

[Setch]

I use the original eclipse, previously owned by my father & grandfather.

Eclipse originals are still available, and are far superior to the clones produced today. I paid £12.50 for an immaculate example a couple of years ago, as a gift for my brother.

 

[transatlantic]

I think there is something seriously wrong with the shape of the chisel slots, on the Wish guide seen above?

David Charlesworth

Yeah? I would have thought it would hold better than the ones you can buy for £10 or so. Assuming it still has a slight curve to one side. But no doubt it will still have milling issues.

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