Veritas Mk2 Honing Guide - Issues :(

[Michael Lewis]

Hi,

So, I'm quite familiar with using waterstones to sharpen knives - done it for years by hand, since my 20s, have King waterstones, make sure their flat etc.
I also have a lapping plate with fine wet/dry sandpaper.

For sharpening plane blades and chisels, I thought better to use lapping plate and jig. I bought the Veritas Mk2 honing guide. I have just the plane honing guide
(not the chisel adapter)

My checklist before sharpening has become:
I have flat glass, waterstones flat - checked both.
I measure the plane blade and make sure the registration plate is aligned appropriately.
I make sure the plane blade is square to the registration plate.
I make sure the blade screws are tightened evenly.
I apply minimal downward pressure on the guide.
Checked the rolling wheel has no issues.

Then I start sharpening, with the lightest of touches on the honing body - so I know I'm not applying pressure on one side.
Even sharpened on good Ray Iles plane blade to discount that.

Result - skewed, isn't sharpening square. About ready to bin the thing, Any ideas on what else I could be doing wrong ?

I'm beginning to think that there is just a design flaw and that side clamping is the better option. Though I don't discount that I might be doing something
wrong, but I don't think so.

I also need something for chisels (I could sharpen by hand, but think I'd get more accurate results with jig).
The chisel clamp head for the Mk2 I'm discounting as (at least at the moment) it would feel like throwing good money after bad
(or I'd like to identify what I'm doing wrong before spending further).

Any other recommendations?

The Lie Nielson one looks nice, but seems very pricey for a shiny version of a basic side clamp. Veritas also produce a side clamp for blades/chisels, looks well made,
albeit buying another Veritas sharpening tool, would feel a bit frustrating. I usually stay away from Chinesium stuff and think better to save and buy-once cry-once, buy from British/US/Canadian/Aus/NZ companies but would be interested in recommendations or thoughts on what I could be doing wrong with my Mk2 jig.

 

[bbtex]

Hi Michael,
I've had a Mk 2 for quite a few years now. Is yours brand new?
I did have a bit of an issue with mine when the roller wasn't rolling very well as I hadn't kept it lubed correctly causing a flat spot to be created. Have a look at yours and see if you have something similar. If the wear is off-centre, then a skew effect can happen. Mine was bad enough to need a replacement part and it works very well now.
I'd not heard of an attachment for chisels, I've always just clamped mine down nice and snugly and it seems to work okay like that.

Edited to say that I've just looked up the Lie Nielson offering. No way would I pay that for a guide. The Stanley version, new or secondhand should work just as well.

 

[Gary B]

Strange, I love mine. If it is new then maybe send it back, as it may be a faulty one or contact the retailer to see if they have had any complaints from other customers just in case it is a dodgy batch.
Otherwise, I make sure I'm putting firm pressure on both sides of the plane blade, and I check squareness of the blade in the jig with a small square after I've removed the angle registration thingy, rather than relying on aligning the side of the blade with the angle jig. For chisels I find the narrow blade holder much better, as otherwise they have a tendency to shift position. Hope it works out well

I also have the Lie Nielsen guide but you would need to buy different jaws for that depending on what you are sharpening, so the cost can get eye watering...

 

[bbtex]

Your mention of a chisel clamp head confused me so I had a look. I see there is such a thing but it is for narrow chisels. For the usual size of chisel, you don't need anything extra as these pictures from the Axminster website show:

 

[Gary B]

Also don't discount the possibility that it could be that your blade isn't completely flat or square, so sometimes it can start off looking skewed until the end once the whole thing is flat, square and sharpened

 

[bbtex]

Also, if the sides of the blade aren't parallel, then registering the blade by the sides will make it skewed or appear skewed when checking with a square.

 

[Michael Lewis]

Thanks for the suggestions 'I make sure I'm putting firm pressure on both sides of the plane blade' - will try that, I did check the blade before it was square, but coming out skewed, I tend to keep the pressure as light/minimal as possible, but maybe needs firmer pressure on the blade.

I have the Mk2 that is for plane blades, they also have a replaceable head for smaller chisels, that looks like it make be better for chisels, but my issues with standard plane blades, let alone small chisels and I don't want to risk those at the moment.

It seems that I may need to take mine apart and check the roller.

 

[bbtex]

Thanks for the suggestions 'I make sure I'm putting firm pressure on both sides of the plane blade' - will try that, I did check the blade before it was square, but coming out skewed, I tend to keep the pressure as light/minimal as possible, but maybe needs firmer pressure on the blade.

I have the Mk2 that is for plane blades, they also have a replaceable head for smaller chisels, that looks like it make be better for chisels, but my issues with standard plane blades, let alone small chisels and I don't want to risk those at the moment.

It seems that I may need to take mine apart and check the roller.

You shouldn't need to take it a part, it will be obvious from a visual inspection and will appear as a facet on the roller.

 

[Fitzroy]

I have only had issues with mine when sharpening plane irons from older woodies that are tapered irons, as bbtex says. I those cases I set up the iron manually to be straight by eye and then adjust with some hammer taps after a few strokes when I can see if material removed is equal enough across the iron width.

I have to say I go at it with heavy pressure and my roller is now pretty worn and loose due to sharpening waste getting between the roller and the axle, and have not had any issue with the plane being sufficiently perpendicular. It is never 100% and shows some gaps against my engineers square, perhaps 0.1-0.2mm across a 2" iron but once in the body of the plane this can be managed with the lateral lever.

F.

 

[mudman]

I have only had issues with mine when sharpening plane irons from older woodies that are tapered irons, as bbtex says. I those cases I set up the iron manually to be straight by eye and then adjust with some hammer taps after a few strokes when I can see if material removed is equal enough across the iron width.

I have to say I go at it with heavy pressure and my roller is now pretty worn and loose due to sharpening waste getting between the roller and the axle, and have not had any issue with the plane being sufficiently perpendicular. It is never 100% and shows some gaps against my engineers square, perhaps 0.1-0.2mm across a 2" iron but once in the body of the plane this can be managed with the lateral lever.

F.

I agree, if it is 'a bit' out, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
I also use a lot of pressure but I tend to hold it so that the pressure is more in the middle than at the edges.

 

[--Tom--]

If it’s slightly out of square gentle taps with a hammer to straighten will work well and helps to develop the link between hand eye and brain that so much woodwork benefits from.

Also worth noting for planes you seldom want a completely straight edge. Applying pressure consciously on one side then the other helps give a slight camber that for most things is better.

 

[AJBaker]

It seems strange to me that the guide would be out of square, my guess would be that you're unintentionally pressing slightly harder on one side. Maybe try adjusting the pressure you apply, and press a bit harder on the side that needs more taken off.

Maybe also check the edge with a square before starting, hone for a bit, then check again to see where material is being taken off (and whether you can compensate)?

In any case, you'll want to camber the plane iron a bit which you achieve my alternately presing harder on each side in order to remove more at the corners than at the middle. A completely square edge corner to corner will leave nasty tracks in your work.

It'll work out sooner or later, and if you already know how to sharpen a knife you'll work out how to sharpen chisels and plane irons. Personally, I find them easier to sharpen than knives (even freehand) since there's just one bevel, and the edge is rarely more than 2" wide (easy when compared to 10" chef's knives). That makes it much easier to guide on the stone in my opinion. The big difference is that woodworking tools have a much harder life than kitchen knives, and you remove a lot more metal when sharpening.

 

[mark w]

Another thing to check is the thickness of the blade, occasionally some blades are thicker on one side, for example the left corner maybe thicker than the right corner. I hope that makes sense

 

[Jacob]

If it doesn't work ask for your money back.
You could try freehand, which has worked for millions over the years, and still does. It's much quicker and removes less metal.
There's a quasi religious faith in the ludicrously expensive kit and elaborate rituals of modern sharpening. Even when it clearly doesn't work people have difficulty in shaking off the faith!

 

[bbtex]

If it doesn't work ask for your money back.
You could try freehand, which has worked for millions over the years, and still does. It's much quicker and removes less metal.
There's a quasi religious faith in the ludicrously expensive kit and elaborate rituals of modern sharpening. Even when it clearly doesn't work people have difficulty in shaking off the faith!

I would agree that if there is a fault with the guide, then a refund should be requested.
I think it's probably more the case that it is so unusual for a simple device such as a honing guide to not work, that people feel obliged to identify what is going wrong.
Freehand certainly does work for very many people, for others it doesn't. The OP was asking about a problem with a honing guide, he could chuck it and try freehand but I personally would want to know what was going wrong with it. So, freehand aside, I was wondering if you might have any ideas.