Hmm. I'm not convinced. I find that the tolerances involved in working on skewed blades are so darn tight that aligning to a marked line just isn't near enough.
...Bottom line - I am confident it will be an essential purchase if you have the LV Honing Guide Mk II and skew blades to hone.
I too used the pre-production versions on every skewed blade I could lay my hands on, including carving tools [just for giggles and the challenge of an exteremely low angle].
The first version had no real markings, but I could always register against the fence once the angle was known. There were some issues involving use, but it proved the concept. The second version, with some markings, the version Derek used, worked on every small and large blade I had, at least when I used a non-modified lower carriage [I cambered the roller on my original one].
While planes, especially vintage ones and wood planes with skewed blades, are not often at some "factory perfect" skewed angle, once the skewed plane blade or other edge tool's skew is known, I wrote it on the tool using an indelible marker. This made repeating the set up an absolutely repeatable excercise.
For instance, 3 #140s. Two of them agreed in the angle, but one did not. Once the odd one's angle was known, I could pop out the blade, set it up with the MK.II using this skew registration jig nearly as fast as if it were a square blade in the "regular" registration jig and home it with repeatable accuracy.
Isn't that what a jig like this is for? Repeatable accuracy?
Take care, Mike
