Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
Hi Bill

I seems to me that the problem lies in your concept of a honing guide and, how it is used.

A honing guide excels at creating and honing a micro secondary bevel. It is, for example, never intended to hone the full face of a primary bevel or even the expanded area of a secondary bevel. It is possible to set it up to hone a full face, whether this is flat or hollowed, but you would have to ask yourself "why would I?". This is the rationale behind freehanding a blade, but not in using a honing guide. As soon as the secondary bevel wears, one should increase the honing angle slightly, and create a new micro secondary bevel. This way the amount of steel to be removed is miniscule each time.

Looked at this way, it matters not what angle the primary bevel is, since you are going higher when you hone. It also does not matter what angle the primary bevel is - whether 20, 25 or 30 degrees - since it does not relate to the secondary bevel. Consequently, you could grind a significantly lower primary bevel than usual, one that runs little chance of creating a conflict with the accuracy of the built-in protractor of the honing guide.

The advantage of a honing guide like the LV (both Mk I and II) is the in-built adjustment for a secondary bevel. This can be altered a couple of times, increasing each level by 1 degree.

Get the primary bevel (far) out the way and concentrate on forming a micro secondary bevel.

Regards from Perth

Derek