# Robert Larson honing guide



## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

I signed up for Amazon Prime, where you get 2 day free shipping ...

On Tuesday, I ordered a Robert Larson honing guide. It was $11.

It came today. I tried it out tonight.

Wow. 

Between that and the really inexpensive 3M sandpaper from work, and the fact that I am now using my dead flat work surface for the sandpaper, it is foolproof and very quick.

And they come out REALLY sharp .. you know the test ... able to shave the hair off your arm sharp.

I am very happy right now .. life is good!


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

How well does the Robert Larson honing guide hold chisels? I picked up a jig that looks similar from woodcraft. It does a great job of holding plane blades, but chisels are a little harder to grip. It's difficult to hold the level in the jig.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

The chisels do tend to rock a little more than the plane irons, but once you get the hang of it, it is not a problem.

It is designed to keep the roller directly under the center of the blade/chisel, so it's fine.

There are 2 sets of jaws: a wider set for plane irons and a narrower set for chisels.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

nbo10 said:


> How well does the Robert Larson honing guide hold chisels? I picked up a jig that looks similar from woodcraft. It does a great job of holding plane blades, but chisels are a little harder to grip. It's difficult to hold the level in the jig.


I also use the same honing guide. For chisels or planes I just make sure to tighten the jig in place with a large, correctly sized flat screw driver. Some times to loosen the thing I have to use a crescent wrench on the shaft of the screwdriver to get some extra leverage. Anyway, going that route I haven't had a problem yet. :thumbsup:

_Disclaimer: There is a distinct possibility that you will wreck the threads if you over-tighten this jig! Be careful._


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

I have this jig too. It works pretty well. Did you make a set up block for repeatable angles yet? I use this for my cambered blades since I don't have the camber roller for my Veritas jig. It works really well for that.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

i did tighten it with a screwdriver, but i didn't crank down on it very hard

and i drew a line on the countertop/tabletop i use for the chisel and plane protrusions. I might make a little setup block; god knows i have enough scraps for [email protected]


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> i did tighten it with a screwdriver, but i didn't crank down on it very hard
> 
> and i drew a line on the countertop/tabletop i use for the chisel and plane protrusions. I might make a little setup block; god knows i have enough scraps for [email protected]


I highly recommend a setup block. Consistency of the angle means less metal needing to be removed for each sharpening.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

dang, sometimes sharpening is a pain

i have this plane iron that is not square. i have worked on it for way too long, and it is closer, but still not right.

i must not be using a low enough grit


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> dang, sometimes sharpening is a pain
> 
> i have this plane iron that is not square. i have worked on it for way too long, and it is closer, but still not right.
> 
> i must not be using a low enough grit


I know the feeling, some of the blades in my restorations have been very far from square. :thumbdown:

You need to be removing metal, this will go faster with a lower grit. I would start with 80 grit until square, then move up the grits.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

i have a makeshift grinder i put together with a pillow block and an electric motor. i need to resurrect that and see what kind of stones i can get for it. i should also see if i can rig up a rig for it that i can adjust to help me make sure i hold the blade square and at the desired angle

also, for those of you how have the same honing guide, how do you deal with the problem of the way the smaller chisel jaws don't really close correctly on the chisel because the part of the chisel iron is too thick up near the handle where it has to be in order to get the correct angle?


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## Wrangler02 (Apr 15, 2011)

Chris Curl said:


> i have a makeshift grinder i put together with a pillow block and an electric motor. i need to resurrect that and see what kind of stones i can get for it. i should also see if i can rig up a rig for it that i can adjust to help me make sure i hold the blade square and at the desired angle
> 
> also, for those of you how have the same honing guide, how do you deal with the problem of the way the smaller chisel jaws don't really close correctly on the chisel because the part of the chisel iron is too thick up near the handle where it has to be in order to get the correct angle?


Dealing with narrow chisels is the downfall of that type of sharpening guide. They work just fine for plane blades and paring chisels; but for thicker chisels, I could never keep it from slipping. 

You know that I often comment on being a titewad; but I found that the solution for me is a Veritas guide from Lee Valley. They register the blade on the flat side and clamp across the other face. I think they are very much worth the price. The quality of my sharpening has improved greatly since the purchase.


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

I can't clamp chisels square in the jig I have. The smaller jars were not made very well. I'm going to try to clean the jars up with a file and create a registration edge so that the chisels will always clamp in the same way.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

nbo10 said:


> How well does the Robert Larson honing guide hold chisels? I picked up a jig that looks similar from woodcraft. It does a great job of holding plane blades, but chisels are a little harder to grip. It's difficult to hold the level in the jig.


now i see what you were asking here...

my first response was based on using it with a longer chisel that it could hold ok. last night i tried it with a shorter chisel and i had to push the chisel almost all the way to the handle to get it to stick out far enough for the angle, and the blade is too thick up there to be held correctly.

if they had just made the lip stick out a little further, it would have been fine 

i am also thinking about ways to maybe file or grind it differently to be able to hole the chisel better.

if you come up with something that works, please let me know, thanks


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