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Thread: Veritas small blade holder - opinions?

  1. #1
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    Veritas small blade holder - opinions?

    I need to set myself up with a means to sharpen spokeshave and other small (short) blades. I have a Veritas MKII honing guide that works very well for plane irons and chisels, but not so much for short blades. Any Creekers out there have experience with the Veritas Small Blade Holder? It doesn’t look like it would work great with a MKII, but it sure is more economical than a LN honing guide and a set of long jaws.

    Ladies and gents, school me please. Many thanks in advance.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  2. #2
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    My solution to make it easier to hold small blades was to use a thin piece of oak with a screw, nut and a washer to hold the blade. Then it is easy to freehand sharpen.

    It is likely the elongated assembly could be held in a honing guide and sharpened thusly.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  3. #3
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    Bob. I do the same as Jim. I have the small blade holder. It works for some operations, but I prefer the security of a washer and bolt to magnets to hold a blade in place.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  4. #4
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    I may make up a little gadget to assist in freehanding touch ups. I like the idea of a jig for establishing primary bevel as my freehanding skill set is not very refined at present.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  5. #5
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    Rob, for spokeshave blades, if you haven’t seen it, Paul Sellers has a video on a jig. I made it, and it works very well. Keep in mind, this is for the adjustable shaves, like the Stanley 151. Won’t help your smaller iron need, though.

    AC1A4AB0-5C4A-47F6-BE20-D7B80783AC36.jpg 8FE94E24-9B82-404F-A253-83506FFDBD19.jpg

  6. #6
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    Like others I have a shop made. I was gifted the LV holder and it is much nicer to use for a pretty reasonable price.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  7. #7
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    I personally use the Lie Nielsen honing guide and bought the long jaws for all my short blades. It works extremely well. This honing guide is def by far my favorite.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Luter View Post
    I may make up a little gadget to assist in freehanding touch ups. I like the idea of a jig for establishing primary bevel as my freehanding skill set is not very refined at present.
    How does one refine freehand skills?

    The same way one gets to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice, practice.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    How does one refine freehand skills?

    The same way one gets to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice, practice.

    jtk
    I’ve always wanted to play Carnegie Hall
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    How does one refine freehand skills?

    The same way one gets to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice, practice.

    jtk
    I personally don't get enough time in the shop to practise, practice, practice freehand sharpening. I would much rather spend that time building furniture and not spend it making dull blades that don't do good work. With the proper setup it takes very little extra time to jig up a blade and touch up the micro bevel until it needs to be ground again. I personally get such good results on the LN honing guide that I feel no need to spend time getting as good as results learning to freehand. Shop time is very precious.

  11. #11
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    I personally don't get enough time in the shop to practise, practice, practice freehand sharpening.
    My view on this is my 'practice, practice, practice' started at about 8 or 9 years of age and is still on going.

    Practicing sharpening isn't working on blades for hours on end. It is staying focused each time a blade is set to stone.

    Practicing is the training of one's body and arms to hold a blade in a constant angle to the abrasive media.

    Practicing sharpening could also be seen as reading, watching and paying attention to how others sharpen so as to better understand what is taking place and learning different techniques.

    Using a honing guide is great for getting perfectly repeatable results until it comes time to sharpen a molding plane blade or a carving gouge.

    The honing guide may free a person in performing one task while it may limit a person in another.

    As in many things just because something is perceived as the best way for one doesn't mean it is the best way for everyone.

    Many folks in woodworking may never need to sharpen a gouge or molding plane blade.

    In my case there are also saws, drill bits, garden tools and kitchen knives that need sharpening.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  12. #12
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    There are several honing guides out there. I have one of these. It works quite well.

    https://www.popularwoodworking.com/w...-honing-guide/

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by lowell holmes View Post
    There are several honing guides out there. I have one of these. It works quite well.

    https://www.popularwoodworking.com/w...-honing-guide/
    This reminds me of a sharpening discussion of about 30 years ago. One person brought up an article in Popular Mechanics about evaluating honing guides. The conclusion was the cheapest one (the eclipse style) was the overall best.

    Sometimes keeping it simple can make something work better.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  14. Paul Sellers shows you how to make a spokeshave blade holder for sharpening.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw1JGEbKgCw

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tony Shea View Post
    I personally don't get enough time in the shop to practise, practice, practice freehand sharpening. I would much rather spend that time building furniture and not spend it making dull blades that don't do good work. With the proper setup it takes very little extra time to jig up a blade and touch up the micro bevel until it needs to be ground again. I personally get such good results on the LN honing guide that I feel no need to spend time getting as good as results learning to freehand. Shop time is very precious.
    I'm in the same boat. A demanding job and plenty to do around the house and yard allows me just a few scant hours a week for shop time. I don't mind using a jig as a crutch. One day I may freehand everything, but it will be after retirement. Until then I'll save it for touchups and stropping.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

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