| This Veritas® Mk.II Honing Guide is an all-in-one system
for sharpening edge-cutting tools. The great advantage of this system is
that it has everything you need to precisely set primary bevel angles for
high-angle and standard-angle blades, as well as back bevels. The ranges
are numbered and color-coded for clarity and ease of use. The registration
jig not only squares the blade in the carrier, but also sets the appropriate
blade projection for the desired bevel angle. It lets you sharpen consistently
to the same result or make a controlled change, as desired. This not only
makes tool sharpening on bench stones and surface plates faster, but also
reduces the wear caused by needless reshaping of edges. |
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| This honing guide can be used to sharpen flat or tapered blades
up to 2-7/8" wide and 15/32" thick in the standard-angle configuration.
(The thickness is limited to 0.254" in the high-angle configuration
and to 0.282" in the back-bevel configuration.) Our eccentric roller
makes it easy to create a micro-bevel without resetting the blade in the
guide. |
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| The main components are die-cast zinc/aluminum alloy and the
other parts are all precision machined from brass or steel for durability
and accuracy. |
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| Note: Before using the honing guide,
apply a drop of oil to the junction of the roller, as shown in Figure
15. |
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Figure 1: Mk.II honing guide components.
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| Step 1: Lapping |
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| Since a sharp edge is basically the meeting point of two smooth
surfaces, the first thing to ensure is that the face or bottom of any blade
is perfectly smooth in the area near the cutting edge before you attempt
to hone the bevel. |
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| An easy way to lap a new blade is on a water stone of 800
or 1000 grit; only on a very wide blade would you have to resort to a coarser
stone such as 250 grit. It need not be lapped flat along the entire face,
particularly in the case of plane blades, but it should be well lapped near
the cutting edge. In this lapping process, be sure to keep the face of the
blade flat; otherwise, you could gouge the face of the blade or create an
unintentional back bevel. When you have the back well lapped, polish it
on a 4000 or 8000 grit stone. |
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Figure 2: Lapping the face.
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| Step 2: Setting the Honing Guide |
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| This honing guide can be set to one of three bevel angle configurations.
These are numbered and color-coded for clarity and ease of use (see Figure
3). |
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Position 1 (red) for high angles, |
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Position 2 (yellow) for standard angles and |
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Position 3 (green) for back bevels. |
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| Loosen the blade carrier locking knob, then lift and slide
the blade carrier to the required position. For example, if you are honing
angles between 15° and 40°, set the blade carrier to the 2 (yellow)
location. |
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Figure 3: Configurations for different bevel angle
requirements.
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| You will notice a significant overlap in the bevel angles
marked on the registration jig. There is no particular disadvantage to using
either configuration unless your blade is particularly short (butt chisels
for example), for which it may not be possible to achieve a lower bevel
angle at the high-angle configuration. |
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| Step 3: Setting the Registration Jig |
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| The registration jig ensures your blade is centered and squared
in the blade carrier and sets the blade projection for the desired bevel
angle. |
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| Slide the registration jig onto the dovetail feature along
the front of the blade carrier. Set the registration jig such that the pointer
on the top jaw of the jig aligns with the approximate width of your blade
on the scale on the top of the blade carrier (see Figure 4). Tighten
the registration jig clamp knob only finger tight. Do not overtighten
as it is desirable to have some up and down movement of the registration
jig to allow it to easily slide off the blade when loosened. |
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| Set the registration stop to the desired bevel angle, aligning
it with the scale of your choice. The registration stop in Figure 4
is set for a 1" wide blade and a 30° bevel angle using the 2 (yellow)
standard-angle configuration. |
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Figure 4: Registration jig installed.
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Bevel Angle
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Used on these tools
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<15°
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Back bevels.
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15° to 20°
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Paring chisels, skew chisels (including turning
skews that are bevelled both sides), low-angle planes for softwood,
skew-blade planes.
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20° to 25°
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All of the above (except skews) for hardwood or
end-grain use.
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25° to 30°
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Chisels used both for paring and light mortising,
firmer chisels for softwood, most plane blades (smooth, jack, jointer,
etc.), and spokeshave blades.
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30° to 35°
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Mortise chisels, firmer chisels for hardwood, plane
blades for hardwood with pin knots.
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35° to 40°
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Mortise chisels for heavy use, particularly any
with brittle steel.
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>40°
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Scraper plane blades and bevel-up smoothing planes
used on wood with difficult/reversing grain to produce Type II wood
chips.
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| Step 4: Installing the Blade |
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| For reliable results, the blade must be properly installed
in the guide. |
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| Loosen the two blade clamp knobs on the blade carrier. Open
the clamp bar wide enough to slide the blade in. The knobs must be
loosened and tightened in small increments. Do not tighten
or loosen one side substantially more than the other; otherwise, the clamp
bar or knobs may jam. |
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| Hold the honing guide upside down, and slide the blade in
the honing guide such that it bears against the fence on the registration
jig and just barely touches the blade stop (see Figure 5). The blade
will be centered in the honing guide. The resulting bevel angle will be
accurate, and the edge square to the side of the blade. Hand tighten
the knobs firmly and evenly. The clamp bar must be parallel to the upper
jaw to effectively secure the blade. |
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Figure 5: Installed blade.
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| Loosen the registration jig clamp knob and slide the registration
jig off of the blade carrier. Check that the blade clamp knobs are still
tight after removing the jig to ensure the blade doesn’t inadvertently
shift in use. |
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| Step 5: Honing the Primary Bevel |
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Ensure that the micro-bevel knob is set to the 12 o’clock position
(as shown in Figure 6). The spring-loaded knob is easy to adjust
by pulling it out of the body just enough to allow rotation of the pointer
to the desired position.
Roll the guide and blade back and forth on the abrasive surface until
a satisfactory bevel is formed, ensuring that any downward force is
applied mainly to the edge of the blade. Since the roller maintains
the angle, it should be in contact with the stone at all times. If the
roller is lifted off the stone, the very edge of the blade will have
a higher bevel angle than the one selected. The primary bevel should
extend at least 1/8" back from the edge.
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Figure 6: Micro-bevel knob set for honing the primary bevel.
Figure 7: Primary bevel.
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| Step 6: Honing the Micro-Bevel |
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| One of the features of the honing guide is that the blade
can be quickly and easily honed to a razor-sharp edge by adding a micro-bevel
(or secondary bevel) to the primary bevel. A smooth micro-bevel on the blade
produces the same result as honing the complete bevel, since only the cutting
edge itself has any effect when cutting. You remove less steel, but arrive
at a sharp edge quickly. With the micro-bevel knob in the 6 o’clock
position, you will obtain a micro-bevel with a 1° to 2° difference
from the primary bevel. |
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Figure 8: Micro-bevels.
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Figure 9: Micro-bevel knob set for honing the micro-bevel.
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| Back Bevels |
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| Back bevels are low-angle bevels applied to the back of a
plane blade. There are two major reasons to apply a back bevel, and these
depend on the type of plane blade. |
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Figure 10: Bevels on a plane blade.
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| On a bench plane (where the blade is mounted bevel down),
a back bevel is used to increase the effective cutting angle from the otherwise
fixed 45° of the plane bed. This is useful when working wood with highly
figured and/or reversing grain. The back-bevel angle will need to be tailored
to the particular situation; however, the following chart may be used as
a starting point: |
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Back-Bevel Angle
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Effective Cutting Angle
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Application |
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10°
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55°
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Difficult/reversing grain in softwoods (such as pine)
and slightly figured/reversing grain in more difficult hardwoods (e.g.,
oak, ash and maple). |
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15°
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60°
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For all but the most difficult woods. Usually required
for woods like oak with very severe grain fluctuation, crotch figure
as well as near knots and bark inclusions. |
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20°
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65°
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To minimize tear-out on the most difficult woods. |
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| On a low-angle plane (where the blade is mounted bevel up),
a back bevel is used to increase the included bevel angle without affecting
the effective cutting angle. The purpose of this is to increase the durability
of the edge, particularly when working end grain. For this application,
very low back-bevel angles must be used to maintain adequate relief angle
behind the edge. |
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| To create back-bevel angles of 10° or higher, simply set
the blade carrier in the 3 (green) back-bevel configuration and the blade
registration stop on the 3 (green) scale. Install the blade with the primary
bevel up (as shown in Figure 11), and the micro-bevel knob in the
12 o’clock position. |
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Figure 11: Configuration for honing back bevels.
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| Back bevels should extend no more than 1/32" back from
the edge; a few passes on the abrasive surface should be sufficient to achieve
the desired effect. A large back bevel will offer no advantages and will
require a lot of material removal from the micro-bevel, should the need
arise to remove the back bevel. |
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| Important Note: In the back-bevel configuration,
the indicated bevel angle is dependent on blade thickness. The settings
on the registration jig have been calibrated for a 1/8" thick blade.
Blade thickness does not have a large effect on bevel angle, and a blade
3/16" thick will have a bevel angle varying less than 1° from the
registration jig setting. |
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| For a back bevel of 9°, simply remove the registration
stop and use the end of the registration jig as a reference. To remove the
stop, first loosen the registration jig clamp knob, withdraw the registration
jig clamp, then slide the stop from the registration jig. Re-install the
registration jig clamp and clamp knob. |
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| To obtain back bevels of less than 9°, you will need to
set the micro-bevel knob in the 6 o’clock position and use a spacer
block (see table below for required offset) underneath the roller. The spacer
can simply be a block of hardwood. It is important that the top surface
of the spacer block be parallel with the top of the abrasive surface. If
not parallel, the back bevel will have a skew to it. Once set, mark and
save the block for future use. The spacer will limit the travel of the honing
guide, allowing only short strokes; however, this is not an issue as a back
bevel of 1/32" is sufficient. |
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Offset*
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Back-Bevel
Angle
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Registration Stop Location
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5/8"
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8.5°
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1 (red) high angle 45° |
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5/8"
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7°
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1 (red) high angle 35° |
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5/8"
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6°
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1 (red) high angle 30° |
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5/8"
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5°
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1 (red) high angle 25° |
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5/8"
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4°
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2 (yellow) standard angle 15° |
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13/16"
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3°
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1 (red) high angle 30° |
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13/16"
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2°
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2 (yellow) standard angle 15° |
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| *Note: The offset is the space you have to
create between the spacer and the abrasive surface. The thickness of the
spacer depends on the thickness of your abrasive material. |
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Figure 12: Set-up for very low-angle back bevels.
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| Setting Other Angles |
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| The blade stop on the Veritas® Mk.II Honing Guide’s
registration jig has discrete positions for preset bevel angles, providing
quick, accurate sharpening and perfectly repeatable results. The registration
jig not only squares the blade in the carrier, but also sets the appropriate
blade projection for the desired bevel angle. The angles specifically marked
on the jig represent the most common blade angles you will encounter on
manufactured chisels and plane blades. But that doesn’t mean the honing
guide can’t handle other angles. On the contrary, by mixing configurations
and settings, the honing guide can yield just about any bevel angle. |
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Figure 13: Registration stop hole locations.
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| Table 1 indicates the bevel angle that each registration
stop will achieve in each of the three configurations (standard angle, high
angle and back-bevel angle). |
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| Table 1: Obtaining Other Angles by Adjusting
Wheel Setting Knob |
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Standard Angles
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Hole
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Arrow Direction
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Hole
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Arrow Direction
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Up
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Back
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Front
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Down
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Up
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Back
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Front
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Down
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A
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15.0
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15.4
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15.8
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16.2
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G
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26.5
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27.0
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28.0
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28.4
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B
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16.0
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16.5
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16.9
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17.3
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H
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30.0
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30.4
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31.7
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32.1
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C
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19.4
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19.9
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20.4
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20.9
|
I
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33.5
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33.8
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35.4
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35.7
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D
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20.0
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20.5
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21.1
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21.5
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J
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35.0
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35.3
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37.0
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37.3
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E
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23.0
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23.5
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24.2
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24.7
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K
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37.0
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37.2
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39.1
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39.3
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F
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25.0
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25.5
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26.4
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26.8
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L
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40.0
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40.2
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42.3
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42.4
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High Angles
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Hole
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Arrow Direction
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Hole
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Arrow Direction
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Up
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Back
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Front
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Down
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Up
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Back
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Front
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Down
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A
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19.0
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19.4
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19.8
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20.2
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G
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35.0
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35.3
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36.7
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36.9
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B
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20.4
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20.8
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21.3
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21.7
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H
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40.0
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40.2
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41.9
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42.1
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C
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25.0
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25.4
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26.2
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26.6
|
I
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45.0
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45.0
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47.2
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47.1
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D
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25.8
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26.2
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27.0
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27.4
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J
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47.2
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47.1
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49.4
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49.3
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E
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30.0
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30.4
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31.4
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31.8
|
K
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50.0
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49.8
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52.4
|
52.1
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F
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32.8
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33.2
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34.4
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34.7
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L
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54.3
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53.9
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56.8
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56.3
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|
Back-Bevel Angles
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Hole
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Arrow Direction
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Hole
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Arrow Direction
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Up
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Back
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Front
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Down
|
Up
|
Back
|
Front
|
Down
|
|
A
|
11.5
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11.6
|
12.2
|
12.6
|
G
|
DO NOT USE
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B
|
12.3
|
12.7
|
13.0
|
13.5
|
H
|
|
C
|
14.6
|
15.2
|
15.5
|
16.1
|
I
|
|
D
|
15.0
|
15.6
|
15.6
|
16.5
|
J
|
|
E
|
17.1
|
17.7
|
18.2
|
18.7
|
K
|
|
F
|
18.5
|
19.1
|
19.7
|
20.2
|
L
|
|
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| Alternatively, the blade projection can be set according to
the desired bevel angle, as shown in Table 2. Measure from the edge
of the registration jig and mark the line on the bottom of the jig. Align
the edge of your blade to this line. |
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Figure 14: Measuring blade projection.
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| Table 2: Obtaining Other Angles by Adjusting
Blade Projection |
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| Honing Guide Maintenance |
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| Your honing guide needs to be oiled regularly. The machining
tolerances on this guide are tight to make it as accurate and as durable
as possible. Since the guide is exposed to water and abrasive particles
in use, fine particles can get between the roller and the cam to interfere
with smooth operation. |
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| We recommend that you flush the roller with water, dry it
and apply a drop of oil to the junction of the roller, as shown in Figure
15, every few times you use it. Work the roller with your fingers to
ensure that the oil is well distributed inside. As grit from the sharpening
process eventually fouls the clamping screws, they should be cleaned and
oiled occasionally as well. |
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| It is also important to keep the surfaces of your sharpening
stones true, not only to produce accurate edges, but to avoid uneven wear
to the guide roller. To true your stones, lap them on silicon carbide paper
on a flat surface or use silicon carbide grit on a piece of glass (or steel
lapping plate). Add a shot of oil (for oil stones only) or water (for water
stones only) and lap them flat. |
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Figure 15: Locations to oil roller. |