Sharpening Jig From Verysupercooltools

[Mark W Pugh]

What do you guys think about this? Just need something to sharpen chisels and planes. Looks like a caveman could do it. That's my level of expertise.

Thanks,

http://vsctools.com/shop/product-category/sharpening-jig/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbbHqLRez28

[Nelson Howe]

Mark, I don't know anything about that product. It doesn't look fantastic to me or really even very super cool. This one works great, seems to be an accepted standard of tool with a good reputation, is a tool I have and like a lot, and costs half:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1

This one is even a lot less money and also works well, I think, though I don't have one.
www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1

For tips on how to use it, look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F7q5WGb4ZA

good luck,

Nelson

[David Weaver]

Buy one of the side clamping jigs that go for $10. Anything that doesn't work in it should be freehand sharpened, anyway.

[Denny Rice]

Mark, I don't know anything about that product. It doesn't look fantastic to me or really even very super cool. This one works great, seems to be an accepted standard of tool with a good reputation, is a tool I have and like a lot, and costs half:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1

This one is even a lot less money and also works well, I think, though I don't have one. For tips on how to use it, look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F7q5WGb4ZA

good luck,

Nelson

+1 Nelson. I have the same jig. It works great, and the price is right.

[Jim Falsetti]

The eclipse sharpener works well.

Brent Beach's sharpening jig looks better than the OP's referenced jig and costs less.

[Tony Zaffuto]

If you're going to use a jig, that is not the style to use. The length of it will require the wheel to be off the stone (unless you have a stone that's a foot long, or so). In lieu of a long stone, you would have to make a holder for the stone, with the top of the holder the same height of the stone.

Also, the price of that thing at $129.00 is highway robbery! Get a side clamping, Eclipse style, for about $10 to $15.00. Better yet, learn to sharpen without a jig.

[John Coloccia]

Good grief.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

That thing looks a bit overcomplicated. Sharpening isn't complicated, things like that are made to make you think you are missing something IMHO.

[Myk Rian]

I tried the Scary Sharp method. Bought a Worksharp 3000 and put the sand paper, and Veritas jig away.

[Metod Alif]

Nelson,
There are many satisfied users of the Veritas and side clamping guides. If you want to give a try to free handing, here is one of several ways to practice: Use a 1/4' thick, 2" wide strip of wood (fake iron ) on some 100 grit sandpaper. Darken the bevel (plane one with a block plane to get started) with a pencil. You will get a good feedback of how you hold your 'iron'. Experiment with a grip till you find something comfortable. Once satisfied, switch to a thinner stock. Maybe half an hour. Convex or flat bevel? Both have their proponents. You decide for yourself.
Good luck and best wishes,
Metod

[Phil Thien]

Good grief.

Care to elaborate on that?

[Nelson Howe]

Thanks Method,
I freehand all my thick irons and often my chisels. But I find the jig useful for thinner irons. I also think the jig is helpful for people new to sharpening (I.e. the op).

Nelson

[michael osadchuk]

What do you guys think about this? Just need something to sharpen chisels and planes. Looks like a caveman could do it. That's my level of expertise.

Thanks,

http://vsctools.com/shop/product-category/sharpening-jig/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbbHqLRez28

I didn't hear anything in the demo video about how to register to the blade/chisel,etc. to specific bevel angles so I assume no angle registration feature is built into a jig with an intro price of $130..... even the generic vise/eclipse type honing guide you can buy for typically $10 has an angle registration feature at coarse 5degree intervals while the Lee Valley honing guides mk 1 or 2 has a finer gradient of angle registration built in (more cost than the vise/eclipse but still significantly less than the vsctool offering......

good luck

michael

[John Coloccia]

Care to elaborate on that?

It's 100lb solution to a 1oz problem. It's not that good of a solution, anyhow. You will need to reset it for every height stone you have, or you will have to make yet another jig to hold all of the stones at exactly the correct angle. Half the point of a jig is holding the blade at precisely the same angle as you progress through the stones. How will that ever happen here?

It's $130 and that's apparently the "introductory" pricing, so I guess it's going to cost even more later on. IMHO, it's a poor solution, and very overpriced.

[Stephen Cherry]

I was at the hand tool show a few years ago, and they were using the el cheapo 10 dollar jig. I also had been using that one. Had a more complex jig that did not work half as well.

If you want to spend money, I would recommend some good stones.

[Alan Schaffter]

Ouch! Tough crowd here!

As an aspiring fellow woodworking accessory tool designer, I really want to see other little guys succeed. I appreciate what it takes to manufacture and market a new product, but this is a tough one. It looks like it would work fine, and if you have a Wixey sitting around it would be easy to set the angle.

But I gotta agree with most here. The price is a bit too steep and I can't see that it is much better, if at all, than competing products that are half the price. For instance, when you look at the quality of the already patented Lee Valley MK II sharpening jig which comes with a blade-registration jig, integral fence, blade stop with discrete positions for preset bevel angles, and a three-position eccentric roller that allows quick and easy honing of micro-bevels with only a turn of a knob, you gotta wonder why the VSCT jig costs almost double. A different tool but another comparison closer home is the I-BOX. It most certainly requires a lot more special tooling, materials, labor, etc. and, if I say so myself, has no peer in the market, yet it costs only slightly more than the VSCT.

Also, for not too much more you can get a new WS3000 or a good used one for less, and be able to sharpen the bevel, flatten the back, and do quick touch-ups more quickly. Maybe he's trying to recoup start-up costs (tooling, initial production run, advertising, patent application fees, etc.) in the first year.

FYI, my new lock miter set-up jig is now "Patent Pending" :) It has gone into production. Release date? Soon?

[John Coloccia]

The thing is, I don't think anyone wants to see a tool maker do poorly, but it's great to have a forum where people can just be honest and talk about stuff like this.

Sharpening is one of those gateway skills. It's like tuning a guitar...or parallel parking. There's no shortcut. You read the parallel parking section of the driver's examine manual...turn the wheel this way...turn it that way.....it never works. You just need to do it. Sharpening is like that. You need to do it, and you can do it the hard way by yourself, or you can hook up with a mentor (which is best) but the contraptions don't get you there although they ARE very useful if you know what you're trying to achieve. I've owned nearly every sharpening contraption available, and some are very useful....some are completely useless....and some have limited utility though absolutely EXCEL at certain things (Tormek comes to mind....absolutely brilliant for turning tools).

This particular contraption just misses on all fronts. Even if you use the Scary Sharp system (which is a good system) it will cause problems because different grits are different thicknesses, again completely defeating the purpose of a honing guide. You just can't ignore that. I agree with you that the WS3000 is a great tool. I love mine and use it.

I just hate to see people spend money on stuff and then get frustrated because all of the details don't work the way they should. Sharpening just should not be this difficult.

[John Piwaron]

Sharping using a hand powered method shouldn't cost that much! I use an old Stanley honing jig and an eclipse jig for the ones that don't fit in the Stanley when I use my waterstones. Both are also useable for Scary Sharp as well as those stones. It's *SO* easy get the chisels and irons sharp that way.

OTOH, if you've got a desire to spend a lot of money you could buy a Tormek. They work reasonably well.