I bought a sharpening jig

[bugbear]

.....
I noted that I tended to come off the back of the stone with it,

You have to hold it at the right angle to use the full length of the stone...

I was honing with the edge at the front, wheel at the back, pushing the whole blade/jig composite
up and down the length of the stone. Seems obvious.

I am open to constructive suggestions as to alternatives.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

.....
I noted that I tended to come off the back of the stone with it,

You have to hold it at the right angle to use the full length of the stone...

I was honing with the edge at the front, wheel at the back, pushing the whole blade/jig composite
up and down the length of the stone. Seems obvious.

I am open to constructive suggestions as to alternatives.

BugBear

The way to do it is to use the whole length of the stone. You start at the near end - hold the blade at the desired angle (or a little less) with the wheel in the air, then it engages with the stone as you run off to the far end. I can see you will need 12 pages of instructions BB! I'm sure you can do it.

 

[David C]

Stone boxes can also be made with a wooden runway, at stone height.

David

 

[AndyT]

I can remember that 40+ years ago my woodwork teacher at school said that an oilstone box should have a block of wood at either end, the same height as the stone, end grain uppermost. This helps you use the full length of the stone and if using a jig can provide an extra place for the wheel to rest, a bit more securely than holding it in the air.

 

[bugbear]

You start at the near end - hold the blade at the desired angle (or a little less) with the wheel in the air, then it engages with the stone as you run off to the far end.

I see. The way to use the jig is to not use the jig. A little too Zen for me, but thanks for clarifying.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

You start at the near end - hold the blade at the desired angle (or a little less) with the wheel in the air, then it engages with the stone as you run off to the far end.

I see. The way to use the jig is to not use the jig. A little too Zen for me, but thanks for clarifying.

BugBear

Maybe it is too difficult for you BB.
Basically you don't use the jig where the jig is no use. I can see this will cause confusion.
But don't give up - you may get something out of it if you persist a little longer.

 

[G S Haydon]

I do freehand but I did an write up a while back on my poor atempt at a blog showing free and jig methods. If anyone want to make a simple runway style something like this might be worth a look.

 

[memzey]

Like the way you built in gauge markers to the right of the stone runways. Simple and I can see how that would really save some time in setup. Necessity being the mother of invention and all that!

 

[Vann]

I can remember that 40+ years ago my woodwork teacher at school said that an oilstone box should have a block of wood at either end, the same height as the stone, end grain uppermost. This helps you use the full length of the stone...

We made our oilstone boxes like that when I started my apprenticeship back in 1973. Funny thing is, those blocks of wood have got taller over the years.... #-o

Cheers, Vann.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

What Jacob is obviously unaware of, is Veritas actually are onto their Mk XXXXII honing guide.

Mike.