Vertias MkII Honing Guide and Shapton stones just arrived

[Rick Markham]

Howdy Ya'll, my Shapton stones and Veritas Mk II and camber roller showed up today. I haven't tried the camber roller but did spend a few minutes sharpening my new LN 60 1/2. All I can say is wow!!! I am exceptionally impressed with the MKII to start out with, it is super well thought out and extremely easy and smooth to use. I know the price tag is a little steep, but it is really an amazing design and the fit and finish are flawless. Using it was extremely simple and absolutely a "no brainer". I would highly recommend it to anyone, the micro bevel adjustment on the roller does an amazing job, two perfect micro bevels, even across the blade, the very first try with no effort.

The Shapton Stones exceeded my expectations as well, I know they are highly spoken of, but sometimes I guess you just have to use something to truly appreciate the value in it. Overall I am totally impressed, and absolutely pleased. My block plane was wonderful right out of the box, now it is absolutely amazing, smooth as glass and beautiful thin shavings.

Now my question, when I do my jointer blade, do I want a slight camber on the blade, or should I keep it square? I know often this is personal preference, but I would like ya'lls input. You haven't steered me wrong yet!

Oh and the 2000, 6000, 16000 combination of stones worked wonderfully ;) Keep in mind I have a 500, 750, 1000 wet stones (from being a chef) for if and when I get minor damage to the blades. Thanks again ya'll!!!
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[Rick Erickson]

I like mine with a slight camber. It helps to square an edge on a long board. I don't use the camber roller for the jointer blade (it would be too much). I just use finger pressure on the outside edges of the blade when honing. I will take more passes on the outside of the blade than I do on the inside of the blade (if that makes sense).

That is a nice jig. Most of the time I do freehand sharpening but lately I've found myself reaching for this jig or my Eclipse. The Eclipse is even easier to setup and use (but less versatile). I too love the ease of creating a secondary bevel (very clever design).

[Christian Castillo]

Hi, from time to time you may experience a bit of movement of the blade if you bear down heavy on the jig. some 220 grit sand paper or rubber tape along the top and or bottom jaw will help. Other than that, the Shapton GS are fantastic stones and stay flat for a very long time. Congrats on the nice set up.

[Brian Kent]

Very nice tools for your tools. Keep on reporting as you use them.

[Rick Erickson]

Hi, from time to time you may experience a bit of movement of the blade if you bear down heavy on the jig. some 220 grit sand paper or rubber tape along the top and or bottom jaw will help. Other than that, the Shapton GS are fantastic stones and stay flat for a very long time. Congrats on the nice set up.

Nice idea on the rubber tape. That is one of the reasons i use my Eclipse (side clamping instead of top/bottom. I'll give this a try.

[Rick Markham]

Thanks Christian, I will give that a try! Rick, I did actually end up sharpening my jointer blade and put a slight camber on it (didn't use the camber roller) I just did a very gradual one with finger pressure. I was fortunate in my cooking career that I spent some good time with an amazing chef who had spent some time in Japan apprenticing. His host family, had been sword makers for many, many generations, and the father was extremely famous for his hand folded high carbon steel Sashimi knives. He spent a whole year making a set of knives for the chef I worked under, and taught him traditional Japanese sharpening techniques. (All the knives he made were one sided like plane blades and chisels) I took every opportunity I could to learn from him everything he knew regarding free hand sharpening on wet stones. I am glad he was willing to share his knowledge. One of the really important things he was taught was to use only light pressure, and allow the stone to do the work.

I spent a little time getting my jointer and block plane set up this evening getting everything adjusted and set up. I'm excited to start a few furniture projects I have in the works... I just have to finish getting this bedroom door stained and hung, so I have room to work.

I also have lots of reading to do... my books showed up this week! Peter Nicholson The Mechanic's Companion, David Charlesworth: Furniture Making Techniques 1&2, Guide to Handtools and Methods, and Garret Hack's Handplane Book.

Thanks ya'll, as always!

[Michael Peet]

Nice kit, Rick. Let us know how you like the camber roller. I've been thinking of getting one of them, along with a scrub plane.

In his video Coarse, Medium, and Fine, Chris Schwarz explains that he puts a heavy camber on the scrub, a mild camber on the jointer, and a very mild camber on the smoother.

Best of luck,

Mike

[Rick Markham]

No problem Michael, I will do, It might be awhile before I use it, it is pretty easy to get a camber with the normal roller. Though I imagine for a scrub plane it would be extremely useful.

[Carl L Goff]

I have used the Veritas jig for two years now and like it. The only problem I have with it, my old finger's can't tighten it tight enough so I use a pair of plyers to tighten it and release it. Outside of that it works great.