Pinnacle Honing Guide

[Hokie]

Hi all!

Really enjoy and appreciate all of your information and advice. I have wanted to join for some time, but was really prompted to join to comment on David C's reaction to the guy on you-tube planing a board on his knee.

"Damn, I have clearly been doing it wrong all these years!" I've never laughed so hard in my life.

Anyway, has anyone tried the Pinnacle Honing Guide (it's at Woodcraft)? You guys may not because I suspect it is manufactured by Woodpeckers out of Ohio, USA. Seems easy to setup.

 

[MikeW]

I'll just drop a picture in here for the sake of discussion--and welcome, Hokie!

Edited to add a link.

Take care, Mike

 

[Paul Kierstead]

I think it could use a knob or two ...

Interesting looking device, but seems to have run amok a little. Mind you, for all I know it could be dead easy and fast to use. But it sure looks like massive overkill.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Hokie

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[superunknown]

That looks interesting. Can they be bought from the UK?

I started working for a cabinet makers about 11 years ago, I got out a honing guide for my planes etc. There was a chap who worked there and he took the P**s because I had one. He had been working as a cabinet maker all his life for this company (about 25 years). I was quite stunned at that. But looking at the state of his chisels I think he really could have used one.

I had various comments and put-downs for the rest of my time there

Sorry to share that, but it got it off my chest. I had not thought of that in ages and you triggered it off.

:lol:

 

[woodbloke]

Hokie - welcome to the forum - Rob

 

[David C]

Hokie,
So glad you enjoyed, mind you it takes some skill to plane like that.

What a wonderful creation that jig is, but I think I will be sticking to my $10 Eclipse type.

Nola,

That attitude is fairly widespread. I bet yours were sharper than most.

David

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Hokie

Looks a bit over the top to me.

I used to use an eclipse until veritas bought out their mk II. Now, there is only one guide form me and it is superb - Veritas MK II

 

[ByronBlack]

David C.

Can I ask where I can buy a similar honing guide to the one you use? I intend to purchase a couple of your DVD's soon and would like to be able to follow along with a similar guide.

 

[David C]

Byron,

Easy, APTC far eastern Ecclipse type, side clamping honing guide, just over £5.

This is slightly preferable to the more expensive S&J model, as it will take extra wide blades such as 112.

David

 

[ByronBlack]

Cheers David, luckily I already have some bits and pieces on my APTC shopping list so I can add it to that!!

Apart from some waterstones, are there any other pieces of equipment that you could recommend for someone wishing to follow along with your sharpening dvd?

 

[David C]

Some means of keeping the waterstones flat, at regular intervals!

I use a piece of float glass plus lots of 180 or 240 wet and dry

The dvd shows a granite plate, about £27 I think.

A cheap 6 X 1/2" ruler for the ruler trick, £1-60 aptc

A nagura for the fine polishing stone if not included with yours.

Camellia oil to wipe on tools afterwards.

David

 

[woodbloke]

Some means of keeping the waterstones flat, at regular intervals!

I use a piece of float glass plus lots of 180 or 240 wet and dry

The dvd shows a granite plate, about £27 I think.

A cheap 6 X 1/2" ruler for the ruler trick, £1-60 aptc

A nagura for the fine polishing stone if not included with yours.

Camellia oil to wipe on tools afterwards.

David

.....a sink with running water is quite useful as well....its messy :lol: - Rob

 

[Nick W]

A cheap 6 X 1/2" ruler for the ruler trick, £1-60 aptc

:shock:

Sixty quid for a ruler - how's that cheap. :wink:

 

[Hokie]

Thanks guys for your input. I enjoy my Veritas MKII for planes and use David's card paper trick for the camber. I'm not even going to pretend that I can sharpen an iron by hand like you masters can, but I enjoy chisels and using planes so much more when they are extra sharp. This jig looks very quick to setup up, and if Woodpeckers made it (Quick-lift Router Lift) I know it will be superb quality. I'm curious if the system for holding the iron straight needs some fiddling?

Ok, dumb question. I have been fortunate that my Record 7 had a Hock blade and my old #4 Stanley had been honed before. With a system like this, could I put off grinding, indefinetly? I hone away whenever the micro-bevel goes to macro bevel; I just want to avoid the grinding machines (cost).

-Gary

 

[woodbloke]

Hokie wrote:

Ok, dumb question. I have been fortunate that my Record 7 had a Hock blade and my old #4 Stanley had been honed before. With a system like this, could I put off grinding, indefinetly? I hone away whenever the micro-bevel goes to macro bevel; I just want to avoid the grinding machines (cost).

Unfortunately, constant honing of the cutting edge soon increases its width to the point where it becomes too wide to hone effectively...it is doable, but gets to be harder work and the edge obtained doesn't appear to be quite so sharp...so yes, at some time you will need to have a munch on a bullet, dig deep into the back pocket and purchase a grinder of some sort, a Tormek is what I use and is recommended - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

Another dodge you can use if you don't have a grinder, is to hone the primary bevel on a coarse or extra coarse stone every half-a-dozen honings or so. It's quick if you do it regularly. That way the secondary bevel never gets too long. It's what I do because I can't afford a Tormek ( ) and don't want to risk burning my blades on a high-speed grinder.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[PaulO]

Apart from some waterstones, are there any other pieces of equipment that you could recommend for someone wishing to follow along with your sharpening dvd?

Some chisels and plane irons might be useful. :roll:

 

[bugbear]

There was a chap who worked there and he took the P**s because I had one. [Sharpening Jig] He had been working as a cabinet maker all his life for this company (about 25 years). I was quite stunned at that. But looking at the state of his chisels I think he really could have used one.

Yep, I've had that experience too. (a Joiner, not a cabinet maker - probably an even more macho trade).

He was installing some window frames in my house, and I lent him a chisel. It scared the bejaysus out of him :wink:

"Proper people sharpen by hand" is the catch-phrase, although one is temped to add "and in same cases - badly"

BugBear

 

[Hokie]

Paul (Chapman) that's what I do now and have had success for years. Of course, in restrospect, 4 hours of hand lapping a new bevel every few weeks is a bit tiresome. Maybe the thing to do is purchase a slow speed grinder and buy a nice wheel. I'm most likely still going to get the Pinnacle for my birthday... I'll try a mini-review or something unless someone else already has one?

-Gary