Honing Guide Specification
Peter Evans
>Honing Guides are a continual fascination, none are entirely satisfactory. Thinking about this I put together the following list, in order of importance. Interested in comments, additions/deletions, any reordering of the list:
1. Secure, quick, reliable clamping mechanism.
2. Blade held at required angle, usually 90� but may be skewed, and keeps that angle during use.
3. Bevel angle setting quick and reliable.
4. Can be used for all/most edge tools:
Wide and narrow blades
Short blades
Narrow chisels
Thick chisels
Dovetail chisels
Gouges
Skew blades
5. Minimum number of parts that can be removed from guide (and lost), preferably zero.
6. Easy to handle, light but rigid, suitable size, no sharp edges or uncomfortable protrusions � ergonomic.
7. Stable in use.
8. Easy to exert the right amount of pressure without distorting guide or impacting on the settings.
9. Reliable blade cambering.
10. Micro-bevels can be readily set in the guide
11. Minimum blade protrusion from guide (a) to minimise blade flexing, (b) minimum footprint to use more of a stone, (c) to hone small blades.
12. Easy to flip over to home the back � stone, plate, sandpaper, strop.
13. Repeatable.
14. Micro-bevels can be readily set in the guide without use of jigs.
15. Inexpensive.
16. Uses all the plate or stone.
17. Usable with all abrasive media.
18. Does not need additional jigs for effective use.
19. Complete instructions cover one side of an A4 sheet.
20. Can be used on grinder and stone without adjustment to the guide.
Note: Jigs includes devices to set bevel angle, skew angle, keep blade square in guide, keep guide on track (where guide runs off the abrasive media), and �...
I look forward to your comments