We are blessed to have many talented craftspeople on this wonderful site. Lots of you grind, hone, and polish your edge tools the way craftspeople of old did it: by hand and eye and ear and the hair on your hand. My hat is off to you.
I use the Eclipse jig.
I find value in knowing that one honing and polishing is going to turn out the same as all the others. Moreover, by being able to dial in any desired primary and secondary bevel, and perhaps put a back bevel on the blade, I can decide in advance what I want from the tool, and I can get it in one try. This helps me see what specific modifications produce.
Through the years, my method of measuring the angles has evolved. When I stumbled onto the scene with my very first plane, a L-N 4-1/2 (quite a leap of hubris for a novice!), I made myself a gauge from stiff cardboard:
1. cardboard reference.jpg
That's my blood on the right side. Here's the gauge in use:
2. using the cardboard.jpg
I've found it to be very accurate, though for some reason it never has occurred to me to put a back brace on it to make it stand on its own!
As far as the sharpening procedure is concerned, I am a disciple of the endlessly knowledgeable and generous David Charlesworth. You know, waterstones and the ruler trick. Last year in his workshop I moved on from my trusty cardboard gauge and started just measuring the projection from the Eclipse jig. As you can see in the photo above, I marked my blades for primary and secondary bevel projections. This one, 37 mm, is for the primary honing bevel of 33º:
3. 37 mm.jpg
Since then I've been wanting to make David's little Formica gauges. Shelter In Place finally gave me the time to make them.
4a. gauges bench.jpg
Here is the primary bevel from the 37 mm extension, fitted into the 33º Formica gauge:
4b. the new way.jpg
As a hobbyist, I appreciate learning techniques from the experience of accomplished craftspeople. In the past year I've turned a corner in my understanding of tool setup and use, and this has enabled me to imagine and realize new projects. The tools have ridden along obligingly on my growing knowledge and skill.
5. gauges glamor shot.jpg
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