New Veritas sharpening jig is really great!

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hi All, I have the old one and the new version is so much better. It addresses the two main problems with the last one: First it is very easy to square the blade with the jig. In the old version it was tricky at best. Second is repeatability. You can set the blade in the jig at the exact angle as the last time you honed it. With the old one it was a guessing game again and it didn't work well at least in my hands. And the angle presets are very numerous. The new one also has the same 1 or 2 degree micro bevel feature which I have always liked.

All in all it's made blade sharpening more of a science and less of an art for me. I think Lee Valley really nailed it with this one. Oh yeah, I work for Lee Valley and that's why I'm saying all this. :) Right, I wish I worked for them.

[Michael Ballent]

I saw the sharpening jig in the last LV catalog and I really like the look of it. Thanks for taking the time to report back on your impressions :D

[Keith Christopher]

I use the older jig and made some small blocks to help me square up the chisel or plane iron. But I don't use stones after trying the scary sharp method. it is amazing the results. I love cross grain planing and getting gossimer thin shavings and a surface smooth as a babys butt.

[Michael Gabbay]

Alan - I ordered mine this morning and it should be arriving on Saturday. I can't wait. I always had issues with the original one and the eclipse model with regard to repeatability.

Mike

[John Miliunas]

I "second" the positive notes submitted by Alan! It's a great jig, addressing issues seen by many currently using the older style. Don't get me wrong, the older style is still a viable option and quite useable. For my own use, I gave up on the angle-setting jig and, from a recommendation by Gene Collison, use an inclinometer to set the angle. Kind of a pain, but works well. With the new jig and setup index, that's a thing of the past!:) Speeds up the process remarkably, more stable and, you can even get adjustable and repeatable back bevels. Never done that before, but last night put a 13° back bevel on my LN 4.5 with the York pitch frog, giving me an effective angle of attack at 63°! The BE Maple test piece I used never looked better!:D Two "thumbs-up" to Lee Valley for a wonderful piece!:) :cool:

[Frank Pellow]

Since no one posted a picture :( , I will contribute a link: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=51868&cat=51&ap=1 :)

I have added this to the long list of Lee Valley items that I would like. And, sometimes, peolple even buy me things that are on that list. :D

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Since no one posted a picture :( , I will contribute a link: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=51868&cat=51&ap=1 :)

I have added this to the long list of Lee Valley items that I would like. And, sometimes, peolple even buy me things that are on that list. :D

Sorry Frank, I asked the wife if I could buy you one and she said Frank who? :) Sorry.

[Keith Christopher]

Ok now I'm convinced! This'll be my next gloat. Gotta hand it to LV, they keep improving good ideas !