Honing Guide Comparison

[@hypnolobster]

I've got both of the veritas, and the side clamping one is wonderful for me. I hated plane blades in the Mk2, so it's been mostly relegated to sharpening skews because the side clamping does everything else perfectly.

[@ANTHONY81586]

Same. I love the side clamping jig for the mkII for chisels but with the plane blade jog, I could never seem to get it perfectly square, even with the angle setter.

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

You left a few points out in regard to the eclipse clone. 1. The curved side is designed that way so one point pushes the tool against the flat side. 2. If your chisel slips its because the lower groove isnt deep enough to grip the angle on a bevel edge and this needs modification with a file so it grips better. If you notice the plane blade has a hump after sharpening you need to file the outer edges on the top seating to prevent flex. (Caused by over tightening the screw!) The rocking of the roller is not a fault. Its designed so you can rock the corner of the plane blade over to apply a slight radius to prevent tram lines in your planed surface. (Caused by the blade corners digging in.) Like most woodwork tools its needs tweaking when new. Once adapted this is a very good guide and the expense of veritas, neilson etc cant be justified. (Unless youre a tackle tart!)

[@ajefferslyon]

This is the kind of gold I look for when wading through youtube comments. So much much good information written concisely. As for blade flex the only shred of information on this whole internet is right here in your comment. And you include a solution too! Though I'm trying to picture which part of the guide to file.... Anyway, thanks so much

[@peterdavey8348]

Thanks. Good review. I currently use the Rob Cosman jigless method but I do use the Veritas 2 when I need to re-establish my primary bevel.

[@ChiefTiff]

The reason the Eclipse performs poorly at clamping chisels is due to the modern practice of manufacturing chisels that taper in thickness down their length. You were able to pull your chisel out of the clamp relatively easily; but if you tried to PUSH the chisel the chisel further in you would have struggled! Firmer and older style bevel edged chisels that don’t taper are held tightly with no issues. I do sharpening demos myself and have every one of those guides (with all the extra bits for the Mk2) plus a few others as well. I stress that the purpose of the jigs is simply to give REPEATABLE results each time and all will do so; the choice of which one to use boils down to what is affordable, what is easy and what is comfortable to use. For my own use; I use the Mk2 for narrow chisels (with the narrow blade head) and some skew chisels but everything else goes on a Tormek. Another underated guide though is the Record 161. As it uses a ball bearing instead of a roller it is almost impossible to NOT put a camber on whatever blade you put in it, but for CURVED blades it’s brilliant.

[@murraypotts924]

I have had a MkII with the side clamping and skew guide attachments for many years and love it. Like all my veritas it works

[@keving8682]

I just purchased my first planes and was debating between the two Veritas guides - thank you very much for this helpful video!

[@donalddunn8222]

Follow up: Despite what the instructions show and what I have seen others do, it is not necessary to turn it over to put on the gage, Just let the guide rest on your chisel, slightly tighten the knob and with it in the same position put it on the gage and tighten it down. No need to turn it over. It will be about a half deg. short of 25 deg. but you can nudge it up a hair if that bothers you.

[@cobberpete1]

I dumped the Eclipse quite a few years ago for the Mk2. Very happy with it, I will agree it is sometimes a bit nigaly with the clamp and I have to adjust / tighten sometimes with narrow chisels

[@kz.irudimen]

I really hoped the veritas side clamping guide would be an eclipse clone that isn't shit, and it's exactly that. It does not do as much as the Mk2 or the LN guide but it is a lot cheaper and less fiddly. The 2 things it lacks is sharpening skewed irons, and short irons (like spokeshaves). But other than that it's great, particularly for narrow blades. Absolutely no issues with 3mm chisels for example. An "expensive eclipse guide" like you said, expensive and good :)

[@ANTHONY81586]

Veritas actually has a honing guide for spokeshave blades that works beautifully, once you get it square.

[@kz.irudimen]

@@ANTHONY81586 For spokeshaves I just make jigs that are pretty similar to the veritas spokeshave jig. I use a piece of wood with a screw in it and the spokeshave lever cap to hold the blade. It works really well, and it's easy to keep it square by just adding another piece of wood on the side for the blade to butt up against square. Not sure If I'm clear :)

[@robjohnston8083]

I had the Veritas MK2 and most of it's attachments, used it extensively for 3 or 4 years, never really happy with the results or all the fiddling. Recently bought the Lie nielsen version and sold the Veritas soon after, much easier more accurate and repeatable results from the LN.

[@radiusnorth1675]

Hello. I think there is another Veritas honing guide that you might consider and that is their original honing guide ( # 05M0210 ). I work for Lee Valley (Veritas being a house brand ) and have used the various guides extensively. The original hits a nice price point , has the eccentric cam to dial in the 2 degree secondary bevel and has a roller that is wide enough to be stable yet narrow enough that with a little pressure left and right you can put a camber on the blades that need them. Comes with an angle setting component but I have found that building an accurate "angle-setting-board" more convenient to use. Thanks for you videos.

[@TheWoodKnight]

I didn't realise the mk1 jig was still being sold! It's not available here in Australia. Three general purpose sharpening jigs from Veritas at $56, $67 and $86 - that would make for some tough choice. Does one jig tend to outsell the others?

[@patbassman8251]

I use the eclipse cheapo copy I had to repair the wheel as i wore the centre core out , i was given the Mk2 Veritas and i find it in consistent cant get on with it , im thinking about the Lie Nielsen one but its a lot of money , Veritas haven't settle on a design but keep selling their different models regardless .

[@FixitFingers]

Cheers Paul, the Mk2 and a Sharpening station I think is my next purchase, this series has been very helpful.

[@TheWoodKnight]

What have you got in mind for a sharpening station?

[@FixitFingers]

@@TheWoodKnight copying yours pretty much be verbatim 😂

[@katluke]

I’ve had the mk2 Veritas for years with the side clamping attachment and it works very well,however the new cheaper Veritas side clamping guide is useless and does not hold anything square in the jaws,plenty of reviews with the same opinion online. It is the worst Veritas tool I have owned.

[@pedro.federici]

Me too. I gpt it 2 years ago. MK2 Deluxe

[@donalddunn8222]

I purchased a Veritas Side Clamping Honing Guide and tried it out today. It does a good job of keeping the blade flat with the wide roller, it's made well with precision machining. Problem I'm having with it is, it's difficult to keep the blade in place while you turn it over to set you angel. The pros make it look simple but my old arthritic fingers aren't very nimble any more. It always slips out of the grove when I'm trying to tighten it. Anyone else have this problem? I try to support the blade up against the correct area for my long chisels, It's frustrating.

[@johnfithian-franks8276]

Hi, I did not like the cheapest one and the expensive one was not worth the price, but I did use the sizes from the expensive one and made my own version that has been fine for the past thirty years

[@jameseconleyjr7868]

My Mk ll has lost the ability to hold the chisel square after about 9 months of use. At first, the jaws couldn't hold narrow chisels resulting in skewed bevels and edges. Now it won't hold anything true for an entire sharpening. I've seen a number of similar complaints in other vid comments. I'd assume Veritas is aware of the issue. Just an FYI, if it happens a couple of times and is still under warranty, send it back. Over-tightening is not a solution.

[@TomasRosberg]

I had the same issue, veritas replaced it for a new which was perfectly square for about a year, its now well out of square again... Just ordered the side clamping guide in hopes to retire the mk11. I think the problem is that its just got too many different parts that wear with the abrasive particles that sharpening produces

[@nurgle11]

I have the Henry Eckert and a generic Eclipse clone, they're night and day but you'd expect that for the cost I guess.

[@NateDizity1420]

I had the side clamping guide and it was very nice and worked extremely well. I kick myself repeatedly for selling it when I needed cash for my latest gun build. I think I'm order another 1 next pay.

[@1963uspl]

Nice one Paul, totally agree about the whole "is it sharp" vs "you must sharpen this way or else" crowd. I have the Eclipse knock off from Carbatec (I think) and till you mentioned it never noticed the 30mm / 30 degree instruction on the end. Thanks for teaching me something new. David P.S. Hope the glasses work for you, they look cool no matter what :)

[@TheWoodKnight]

Hah, thanks! Its very strange seeing things through rose-tinted lenses but it does seem to be helping with some of my migraines - normally I'd be under covers but I was able to look into a video light, which is a big step up!

[@steveiv9250]

To each their own, But I’ll keep my MK2 over any other. Chisels, plane irons, and mortise chisels are a breeze to maintain, very accurate and consistent.

[@johnpayne6196]

Great information. Thanks for the unbiased review.

[@vpower9232]

Which one of these guides works best for mortise chisels?

[@Erriot781]

Thanks for the video super Chief!

[@paulchi99]

whats the max angle you can do on veritas?

[@RafikFawzy]

For Veritas Mark II there is an accessory head for the narrow blades

[@matthewwysocki5019]

Well done! Thanks!

[@clippism]

Do the veritas jigs work for Japanese or tapered chisels?

[@TheWoodKnight]

I haven't tested with japanese plane blades, but I've had no issues with top-clamps-guides for japanese chisels. If anything they might be a little more secure as the ura/hollow creates two points of contact with the top. I haven't tested on side clamping guides, sorry!

[@burksthepenguin]

Super helpful! The tightarse in me wants to go the eclipse clone, but I should probably spend the bit more and not hate sharpening as much

[@TheWoodKnight]

Next time you're around you're more than welcome to test drive all three. I'll be keeping the two Veritas, be you're welcome to the eclipse clone!

[@WoodenItBeGrand]

The Kakuri honing guide looks like it's another solid contender and in terms of ergonomics looks like it'd kick butt on the rest. But still a little pricey. Cheers for putting this together.

[@TheWoodKnight]

I've seen that one and I'll admit I've always wondered about it. The original (mk1 I guess) Veritas Honing Guide looked like a less ergonomic version of that - the single smallish contact point for clamping is what gives me reservations... is it too small to secure things, etc? Japanese Tools Australia have it for $140, so its up against some pretty stiff competition at that price!

[@WoodenItBeGrand]

@@TheWoodKnight I can't tell you if it's any good. I was actually looking at buying one in the next few weeks so your review came at the perfect time. I've got the dodgy eclipse copy and am finding all the problems you mentioned when I try to hone.

[@SirBenJamin_]

That looks really interesting, as it does Japanese blades too.I do wonder though, given it's only clamped in the center, if it will want to rotate/pivot the blade.

[@d.k.1394]

Great

[@FJGavio]

lol you had me at dollerydoos

[@SirBenJamin_]

In regards to the projection block thing, do you find you need different blocks for the same angle, depending on the thickness of the chisel/plane iron? for example, the projection length for a 30deg mortise chisel is going to be different to a 30deg plane iron, because the mortise chisel is about 3 times thicker. The concern is not so much that using the same projection for both will produce an angle on one that might not be exactly 30deg (who cares?), but more that you would be there for days removing the material required to get to the edge. Hope that makes sense.

[@TheWoodKnight]

The projection shouldn't change based on the thickness of the blade - it references off the tip of the blade and the guide. For a mortise chisel, you could comfortably put a microbevel of 35-40 degrees on it to reduce the amount of steel being removed though. I ran out to the workshop to test, but neither side clamp guide will work with mortise chisels particularly well - the Eclipse is a complete non-starter (even tightening with a screwdriver it just fell out), the veritas side clamp almost kinda sorta worked, but I'm not sure it was in 100% straight.

[@SirBenJamin_]

@@TheWoodKnight If you picture a thin blade in the eclipse style honing guide, and then imagine a much thicker blade in the same place, to get the same angle, the thicker blade will require a longer projection. If you used the same projection, it would be a different angle.

[@JakeRaytheRounder]

I forcefully trained myself to sharpen by hand because of the cost.

[@d.k.1394]

I made my own one out of wood

[@PeanutsDadForever]

Thanks. Very good review. I’m a bit concerned about your glasses though. Uok? 🇦🇺👴🏻

[@TheWoodKnight]

I've had daily near-migraines for just over 18 years. Some days are good, some days are...not as good :)

[@d.k.1394]

I am too lazy to use a micro bevel