First experience with Veritas MKII honing guide

[Eric Schubert]

So, I got sucked into the Lee Valley free shipping shindig going on, and my package already made it to my door today. Eagerly, I ripped open the box to check out my new chisels and the Veritas MKII honing guide that I plan to use to sharpen them. The chisels look great, and are lighter than I had expected. But I suspect I'll enjoy them quite a bit. The Veritas MKII, however, was what I was really after. I've tried sharpening some blades before, and it's always been difficult to really get a good edge on them. I knew this would really help me become consistent in my sharpening efforts. Since this is my very first experience with it, I thought I'd share. I apologize for the long post. Hopefully it's helpful.

Firstly, let me express that I'm a complete and total noob to true woodworking. I had woodshop in high school and absolutely loved it. But that was 15 years ago, and much of what I had done was forgotten, aside from vague happy memories and a couple of surviving projects. (I still use my large round cutting board made of maple and black walnut for pizzas!) But I don't have much experience building projects at home, away from a fully-equipped shop environment. I don't have a planer, jointer, bandsaw, tablesaw, drill press, etc. All I have are a few handheld power tools and some basic hand tools. The set of Narex Classic Bevel-Edge and mortise chisels I ordered are my first-ever woodworking chisels. And I just acquired a few old hand planes that need sharpening (or even a blade, for that matter). I've never used these tools, let alone sharpened them. So, having something like the MKII could be critical for my success.

Before beginning any work on my Narex chisels, I figured I would try this MKII out on my only other chisel; one with which I didn't mind experimenting. It's a 3/4" bevel-edge chisel from Ace Hardware that could very-well be 40 years old. And not only was it old, it was dull as a butter knife. I had some work cut out for me...

The Veritas MKII came with excellent instructions. And once I figured out how to use it, the honing guide was very easy to use. Here are the steps:

1. Attach the "registration gauge" to the guide and choose an angle setting with the stop.
2. Slip your chisel or blade into the guide with the side (if the sides are parallel) against the fence on the registration gauge, and the tip against the stop on the gauge.
3. Clamp in the chisel or blade with the tightening screws.
4. Remove the registration gauge.
5. Have at it!

It really is quite simple. The gauge, stop, and markings really make it easy to set this tool up consistently. My only issue is that the chisel can slip a bit if you're putting sideways pressure on it during sharpening. The clamp bar isn't textured, so there's not a ton of friction holding the blade in place, even when the screws are really tight. Just don't put excess sideways pressure against the tool and it'll be fine.

I started with a marble plate and sandpaper with spray adhesive holding it to the marble. First I worked on flattening the back of the chisel. I did a rough flattening using up to 220-grit paper on the entire back, but got lazy and only finished through 600-grit within about 3/4" of the edge. I'm not sure if this is a problem or not. If it is, I'll go back and really polish up the back of the chisel. Then I worked on the bevel. It took a LOOOOOOOOONG time, even with 100-grit sandpaper, to get the bevel set. This blade had a convex bevel and needed some help. But once that bevel was good to go, the rest of the progression moved quickly. I went through 100, 220, 400, 600, and 1000-grit paper. Then I moved on to lapping film. (I got this for my straight razors.) The progression was 12, 5, and 3 micron films. I have a 1-micron film, but was too lazy to grab it.

In the end, the chisel came out REALLY sharp! It's not quite to a point where I could shave with it, but I think it's definitely ready for some chopping. I still need a little more practice sharpening, and it's possible that I need to do more work to really make this chisel razor-sharp. The first thing to try is probably putting a micro-bevel on it.

Overall, I really like the Veritas MKII. It's going to help a LOT as I start into using hand tools that require sharpening. I feel it'll pay for itself in no time at all. I'd highly-recommend it to anyone new to sharpening, or someone looking to get consistent results. It's an excellent tool, and I'm looking forward to getting my Narex chisels in tip-top shape using it.

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On a side note, I also discovered that I'm not a fan of my Naniwa 1K Superstone. I don't know why, but I just couldn't hit the whole bevel with that stone. It would polish up most of the bevel face, but it kept missing the edge. I didn't have that problem on the lapping film and marble. I've had some serious difficulty sharpening my straight razors on the Naniwa, too. I'm starting to question if the stone is the problem, rather than my technique. Either it's not a high-quality stone, or how I use it isn't a good technique on that stone. Perhaps it might be time to move on to harder natural stones.

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Lastly, I figured I would share some pictures of this old chisel that I worked on tonight. Here it is! The Ace Hardware 3/4" bevel-edge bench chisel. It was my grandfather's. When I got it, this thing had paint and grime all over it. I used a wire brush on my dremel and cleaned it up a bit. Now I think it looks pretty good! Notice in the second photo, you can actually see some letters reflecting on the bevel from my phone as I took the photo. The last photo shows the back of the chisel. It looks more scratched than it is because of the lighting. But you can tell where I concentrated my efforts along the edge.

[Shannon Brantley]

How long does the sandpaper last? When I first got into hand tools (not too many years ago) I went to a Lie Nielsen demo at Highland Woodworking. The sharpening technique they showed involved adhesive back sandpaper and it looked great. Just rip off a new piece when it loses its abrasion. What I didn't consider is that the guy sharpening wasn't footing the bill for that expensive sandpaper. Can you get a few uses out of one piece?

[bob blakeborough]

You shouldn't really be putting a lot of pressure on the guide while sharpening. Try and think of it is exactly that... Just a guide. I used to try and muscle everything while I was sharpening and it took a bit to figure out, but really I find now I get tools sharper, faster by using less pressure. Less pressure also reduces or eliminates accidental skewing of the blade. As a matter of fact I am now at the point I really only use a guide for re-establishing a bevel.

I do not regret a minute learning to sharpen with the MKII, but I am happy that I have slowly moved over to freehand for most of what I need to do...

[Prashun Patel]

"Try and think of it is exactly that... Just a guide. "

This is a very rich and true statement.

You may (as did I) find that your plane blades are tricky to sharpen squarely. This is caused by uneven and excessive clamping pressure on one side of the blade. I learned from others that you should tighten each knob in turn, a little at a time until both are snugged but not too tight.

Adhering to Bob's advice not to put a lot of pressure on the roller will prevent your blade from wiggling loose.

[Prashun Patel]

I have no issue with the mk ii on narrow chisels. With narrow chisels, the nuts exert a lot of force on the chisel, the small chisel moves the fulcrum farther from the nut vs a wider blade. So you can get skewing, unless you are gentle with your adjustment, or tweak one side or the other to compensate as mentioned above. Also sometimes using the yellow or green roller setting will allow a further blade projection which allows more accurate registration with the right angle attachment.

[Eric Schubert]

I can definitely agree that hand sharpening can be faster than dropping a blade into a jig and setting it up, but the jig works for good, repeatable results, especially when you first start out like me. Once the bevel is established, you can keep the bevel flat on a stone by feel. When I tried hand sharpening initially on the chisel, I just found myself rounding over the bevel and making a mess. I know I just need practice, but I'd rather get the tool sharpened and spend my time actually using it. But all of this frustration was just when setting the initial bevel on an old tool that needed a lot of help.

The chisel is sharp, for sure. I did test it out on some pine, and it was able to start paring without any real issues. It's not as sharp as it could be, but that will come with experience and practice sharpening.

I also nabbed one of my plane blades and tossed it into the MKII. This blade was for my old Craftsman/Sargent low-angle block plane. I set the bevel at 25°, and then tried out the micro-bevel feature on the roller. It seemed to work pretty well, although it seems you need to be careful that you keep light pressure on the blade to prevent from taking more off on one side than another. But this actually ended up putting just a touch of camber on the blade. I popped it into my LA block plane and tried it out. As with the chisel, it was sharp, but not scary sharp. It was able to take nice shavings and leave a smooth finish on some pine. Overall, I'm very happy with my first attempt with a plane blade.

A couple of side thoughts...

I've tried polishing up my straight razors (for looks, not for sharpness) using the automotive abrasive that you mentioned, Glenn, and it's basically a really fine abrasive compound that's applied to a pad. It's definitely NOT sandpaper or abrasive film. The films are much easier to use for honing. And they definitely last a very long time.

I also don't really find that setting up the MKII takes all that long. It's not as fast as just hitting the stones by hand, but it only takes a few seconds to slip on the gauge and clamp in the chisel or blade. The amount of time I spent setting bevels far surpassed the setup time, making it miniscule and negligible at best.

And Brian, you're definitely not peeing on my birthday cake. My birthday isn't for a couple of months. I understand what you and others are saying. But much of what you guys do now has been learned over time. Trying to jump right in to hand sharpening is not only intimidating, it's also difficult when you don't really have any experience sharpening things or anyone to stand there with you and show you how to do it. (Let alone all the tools that you guys have. I don't even have a grinder.) You guys are my eyes, ears, and knowledge base. It can be hard to duplicate something when miscommunication is so easy using only typing, just like sending emails. Pictures are great, videos are even better. But nothing beats someone there in-person to show, guide, and teach you.

So, it's not like I'm blowing off the guys saying I should learn to hand sharpen my tools. But I'm going to stick with my honing guide until I learn more and gain some experience sharpening my tools. It's just easier to get consistent results as I work up from "total noob" status.

[Brian Holcombe]

I understand your feelings of intimidation, they will pass over time. The trick, IMO, to 'scary sharp' is to maintain the edge with a 6k or higher stone by hand. It's easy and quick and to some degree very similar to using a strop.

Use it for a day or two for planing/chiseling operations, then use the above method, get a burr a couple times, swipe the burr off and you'll find once you get the hang of this it's very very sharp and quick. Most people who look at my tools think that I spend half the day polishing the edges, where really I take 15 minutes and maintain the edges while drinking an espresso.

the guide is great to own, they're fantastic for getting back to square one and setting micro bevels, they are bad at maintenance because they can't find the flat the way you can by feeling for it.

[Prashun Patel]

Eric, these threads always devolve into "freehanding is better than using a guide." I am definitely aspiring to that someday. However, I can tell you that it's not the only way to get quick, repeatable, usable, wonderful, happy results. In fact, my own method (guide + Worksharp + stones) works for me so well, I am having trouble disciplining myself to learn freehanding. The method that works easiest for you is the one you will use most often; and that's what it's really about.

[Steve Friedman]

Eric, these threads always devolve into "freehanding is better than using a guide." I am definitely aspiring to that someday. However, I can tell you that it's not the only way to get quick, repeatable, usable, wonderful, happy results. In fact, my own method (guide + Worksharp + stones) works for me so well, I am having trouble disciplining myself to learn freehanding. The method that works easiest for you is the one you will use most often; and that's what it's really about.

Well said!

Maybe I'll get the knack of freehanding some day, but once you get into a groove, honing guides don't take that long to set up. For me, it's definitely quicker than having to spend the time fixing a rounded edge. Besides, acquiring honing guides can become a slippery slope of its own. I don't want to publicly admit how many I own, but the MKII is not even close to being the most expensive! And I'll still probably be one of the first to buy the LV side clamping attachment and L-N's new guide as soon as they become available.

Steve

[Eric Schubert]

You can absolutely get a few uses or more out of one piece of sandpaper, especially if it's the better-quality type. The cheaper stuff will fall apart or the abrasive will start crumbling off after a bit. I used a red sandpaper for my coarsest grit (150), but I don't remember what brand it was. It's a deep, ruby color, not the rusty red-orange color some sandpapers have. I can find out what brand that was, if you want. But it looked similar to Norton "RedHeat". It came in sheets, though.

After that, I moved into Norton 3X for the 220, and on to Norton wet/dry for the 400, 600, and 1000.

Bob, I agree that lighter pressure is key to getting the sharpest edge. But I did use quite a bit of pressure to remove material quickly as I set my initial bevel. I had to take off a fair amount of metal to get a continuous flat bevel. Fresh sandpaper and pressure was the quickest way to make that happen without a grinder (I don't have one.). After the initial bevel was set, the rest was easy. Only light pressure is needed, at most, to get the bevel to the next grit.

I wouldn't be surprised if I end up honing freehand in the future. But this bevel was rounded over and needed a guide to get a good, flat surface.

[Eric Schubert]

"Try and think of it is exactly that... Just a guide. "

This is a very rich and true statement.

You may (as did I) find that your plane blades are tricky to sharpen squarely. This is caused by uneven and excessive clamping pressure on one side of the blade. I learned from others that you should tighten each knob in turn, a little at a time until both are snugged but not too tight.

Adhering to Bob's advice not to put a lot of pressure on the roller will prevent your blade from wiggling loose.

That's good to know. I had noticed that they mention tightening the screws alternating just a bit at a time on each side, and that makes sense. Clamp too hard on one side, and it'll throw off the angle just enough to cause issues. That could be especially true if you go to resharpen it later on and do it differently, it won't hit the bevel properly all the way across and you'll have to reset the bevel again.

[bob blakeborough]

After you tighten the screws just lightly snug and even, do a few light strokes and check the edge. If you see it beginning to skew slightly one way, all you have to do tighten the opposite screw a bit and test again. This will straighten the blade in the jig if you were off a little.

The first few tries I had to play with it a bit like that, but pretty quickly you get a feel for the screw tightening and now I can pretty much set it perfect the first time, every time...

[Eric Schubert]

I just assumed it would be similar to tightening lug nuts on a wheel. Alternate tightening and try to keep them as even as possible. That seemed to also help eliminate any shifting of the blade, since there's even contact across the top and bottom of the blade.

I plan to give this a try with a couple plane blades that I have, possibly even tonight. It should be interesting to see how it behaves with a wider blade.

Thanks for all of the advice, guys. Since I've started here, everyone's been nothing but kind and generous with their advice and experience.

[Michael Ray Smith]

Thanks for all of the advice, guys. Since I've started here, everyone's been nothing but kind and generous with their advice and experience.

And you opened a topic where you will get all sorts of advice! Sharpening is something we all have to deal with, and it happens to be strongly subject to personal preferences. If there are more ways than one to skin a cat, there are at least 10 times as many ways to sharpen your skinning knife. So here are my personal preferences, with no criticism for anyone who does anything or everything another way.

I, too, am a fan of the Veritas MK-II. I wish I had just bought it first before I bought a lot of other jigs. I stared out buying a granite plate, a whole bunch of wet/dry sandpaper, and an eclipse-style jig, and I almost never use any of that stuff anymore. As others have pointed out, the weakness of the Veritas MK-II is with narrow chisels, especially narrow bevel-edged chisels, and it doesn't work for larger pigstickers. But it's all I use now for plane blades (including my No. 8, which won't fit in some other jigs) and most other chisels. I even use it with my WorkSharp 3000, equipped with a table attachment; I hardly ever use the built-in angle guide for using the bottom side of the sharpening disk. For narrow chisels and many pigstickers, I use Richard Kell's simple little jig that clamps from the side. For very, very short blades, I have the Lee Valley small blade holder; I find it awkward to use, but sometimes it's about the only way to sharpen a short blade, such as a spokeshave blade, to a defined angle. Despite my preference for jigs, after I get a good bevel on a blade, I often sharpen freehand until I decide it's time to go back to a nice, fresh bevel with a good defined angle. An exception is bevel-up plane blades -- I don't handsharpen them because I like to know exactly what the angle is. There are some things, however, that won't work with either of those two solutions. Cigar shave blades are one example; I use a wooden dowel with diamater slightly larger than the inside diameter of the blade, with glued-on sandpaper. For drawknives, I think there may be one or two jigs available, but I sharpen them freehand, either holding the knife by one handle with the other handle tucked into the crook of my arm or against my shoulder -- with the blade AWAY from me so I don't slice my fingers to shreds -- or with the knife clamped at the edge of a workbench. For abrasives, when I'm using the worksharp, I usually pay for the convenience of their pre-cut sandpaper, but sometimes I cut my own. If I'm not using the WorkSharp, I use diamond stones almost exclusively. However, I DON'T use the diamond disks that you can buy for the WorkSharp. The ones I tried didn't last very long, certainly not long enough to justify the cost. And one more sharpening preference -- I usually don't use secondary bevels because I don't see that they do anything for me.

[Eric Schubert]

Keep in mind that it's probable that the flatness of the Naniwa probably doesn't match the flatness of the marble. It doesn't really matter which one is flatter. The important thing is that they are probably not flat relative to each other.
...
A simple solution (in addition to checking the Naniwa for flatness) would be to raise the honing angle a couple of degrees when moving from the abrasive to the stone. You should quickly get a small micro bevel along the edge of the chisel.

That's interesting, since I actually used the marble tile with sandpaper to flatten the Naniwa stone. I've noticed that it's a very soft stone, and it can wear quickly. After a bit of honing, it can develop a bit of a dip in the stone, especially if you don't use the entire stone. But I didn't even think to raise the angle to just make a small micro-bevel. The MKII can do that really easily.