Woodpecker's Honing Guide

[cputnam]

Latest one time tool. Let me know what you think of it - for the price.

[David Katz]

Latest one time tool.  Let me know what you think of it - for the price.

At around $250.00, I wouldn't buy this thing if it did all the work itself.

[Handplanesandmore]

Since it is WP, the price did not surprise me. The LN honing jig isn't cheap either.

The WP prices are one of the reasons why I don't own one single WP product. Many WP products are meant to be made for WP fans anyway.

But the need to remount the wheels for wider edges makes this WP jig such a disappointment: https://youtu.be/5qAx0gG8Ubw?t=169

Simon

[Bill_Houghton]

So, does this mean you just sharpen your tools one time?  That would be well worth it.  But, for a fancy guide based on the traditional Eclipse guide, with flat faces on each clamping face (unlike the Eclipse guide, on which one face is curved to compensate for any irregularities), and at $25 more for the basic tool than Lee Valley charges for its comprehensive Mk II kit...well, not on my Christmas list.

But it is red.  No doubt about that.

[cputnam]

ROFL - You guys are funny. It struck me as a Kell guide in red at 3 X the price - but it does come with a projection guide. They did not mention how a 2 5/8 blade would fair in that guide on a 3" stone I was hoping that Jim Ritter had sold his guide to them, which I suppose is just as well because then they would charge $500 for it.

[Philip1231]

What ever happened to Jim Ritter's guide: I tried it out and thought it was a winner?

ROFL - You guys are funny.  It struck me as a Kell guide in red at 3 X the price - but it does come with a projection guide.  They did not mention how a 2 5/8 blade would fair in that guide on a 3" stone  I was hoping that Jim Ritter had sold his guide to them, which I suppose is just as well because then they would charge $500 for it.

[cputnam]

Don't know. Maybe Jim will pop up and let us know.

[Handplanesandmore]

A few years back: https://www.forums.woodnet.net/showthrea...id=7322683

Bringing a new product to the market that is saturated with similar products is quite a challenge. His web site offers no information on whether or not he is still working on the development.

Simon

[AHill]

It's not clear to me how it would handle blades or chisels where the sides are tapered.  Putting the wheels on the outside for more stability may adversely affect your ability to hone a slight radius (accomplished by alternating pressure on each side of the blade when honing).  Lots of bells and whistles, but way more expensive than guides that do essentially the same thing (e.g. the Veritas Mk II Honing Guide @ half the cost).  Setting a secondary bevel requires you to use the setup guide again.  I like the systems where the axle shaft of the wheels can be adjusted using a cam - no need to mess with moving the blade in the guide. The ability to swap the wheel position from inside to outside and vice versa is interesting, but it takes time and for me, honing needs to be quick so I can get back to working wood.

In the video, the demonstrator claims you "tend to dull the edge" if you maintain pressure on the blade as you bring it back toward you when honing.  I've never, ever heard that.  In fact, when stropping, you bring the blade toward you, so claiming you're dulling the edge makes no sense to me.  Then he dips the stone in water periodically, which essentially removes the slurry you've built up while honing.  This reduces the efficiency of honing, since that slurry is a key part of how your stone works.  He doesn't flatten the back until he's finished putting on the micro-bevel.  That's OK, but I prefer to remove the burr on my highest grit stone after using each coarser stone vs. waiting until the end.

[Derek Cohen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_conti...qAx0gG8Ubw

Designed by an engineer and not by a woodworker. This honing guide will only sharpen bench chisels and is unsuited for plane blades. Why do I say this? Because it is designed to be used with widely spaced wheels ("for stability"), and it will not be possible to create a cambered edge on this (without building a special jig to do so ... and that is getting unnecessarily complicated).

I suggest that Woodpecker design a central wheel ala the Eclipse and the LN.

The other limitation is that the angle setter only goes up to 47 degrees. For BU planes - which would again be limited to straight blades - the highest cutting angle is 59 degrees. Compare that the LN can do 62 degrees and the Veritas 65 degrees.

The other major issue is that it seems designed around parallel-sided blades. That might rule out many vintage types with tapered sides.

This is an awfully expensive guide when compared with the much cheaper LN, which has so much more potential and is beautifully built.

Regards from Perth

Derek