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I've tried freehand sharpening of my chisels and plane blades. I can't get the consistent edge I need for the results I want. Some people have that gift. I don't and have tried many times over my 40+ years of woodworking. The tiny amount of time to put the blade in a jig to get a near perfect edge is worth it to me and many others. The Veritas is a Cadillac jig but the side clamping style jigs with a setup board like Deneb from Lie-Nielsen uses in this excellent How to video only take seconds:


http://www.lie-nielsen.com/pdf/AngleSettingJig.pdf

anyone tried one of these? :

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... 43078&ap=1

that do the trick or is it worth it to step up to Mk II?

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If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. - Jack Handey

Kuul, thanks guys, last time I went to pick that up they were out, but I'll try again soon then:)

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If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. - Jack Handey

I've run into Deneb a few times over the years at The Woodworking Shows. While the jig in the video is nifty, every time I've seen his demos live, he sharpens freehand.

Not a knock on people who use jigs. Use whatever works for you. But everything people complain about with freehand sharpening -- rounded edges, knicks in the stone, etc. -- is a function of poor technique, which you overcome fairly quickly with practice. It does not take years to be able to sharpen freehand effectively. It does not even take months. It takes a few hours of practice tops, assuming someone has taken the time to show you the proper way to move your body as you hone. Once you have it down, it's foolproof, easy, and fast. But if you feel more comfortable keeping the training wheels on . . .

Having a bench grinder in general is I would say a must, for that micro bevel, as well as many other uses, and you can find them cheap. Occasionally my blades get dinged up on something metal like a screw and having that grinder is a life saver. I also have a few diamond plates which come in handy when leveling frets as well. My main stones now are Japanese water ones, 800, 2000, 6000 grit, and an all necessary black DMT (rough grit) diamond stone for lapping plane soles. Larger sizes are well worth it for anything other than pocket knives or utility blades, and you'll need something to flatten water stones when they wear down.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

Re: Todd's comment about boatbuilders and tool fascination. Probably the most prolific "teacher" on tools that really builds working boats is Bob Smalser. He is quite practical but at the same time he respects good tools. Many of his very useful writings have been collected by my friend Cian Perez. If you google him you will find access to two quite complete libraries on both handtool and powertool use and toolmaking. Sharpening is well covered in Cian's assembly.

He, Smalser, is a genuine "old salt," slightly more so than our friend Todd, who transforms into a more sodium chloride -based fellow with each passing day. .

I really enjoy handtools but I am a definite mixer with handtools as my detailing and finishing method. So, I do have tablesaws, a 10-20 drumsander, drillpresses, beltsanders,a 4" jointer and two bandsaws-countless routers/trimmers.

I would say I am a student of shaping and honing-the student has been permitted to teach on the topic at times-even got paid for it-Chicago Pizza and great beers. These are a respected currency among my students and pals.(OK, I did get gas money for my not quite 400 mile round trip to the "city of big shoulders. ) And I got to spend some time with great people-many from the Midwest Tool Collectors Association as well as some newcomers.

For all us deficient souls unable to hold our mouths, arms, hands, etc correctly while we hone, here's a quick tip for getting blades to fit squarely in our "training wheels":
http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/Video+Stupid+Shim+Tricks.aspx