Endurance Test. Side-clamp Honing Guide

Ignore the naysayers. This jig produces square, sharp edges every single time.By Christopher Schwarz
Page: 28

Issue #143, October 2004
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Many of my fellow hand-tool users give me a rash of grief about my simple side-clamp honing guide, which has been a fixture on my workbench since 1993.

It’s high time you learn how to properly sharpen. They ask. And then they rattle off a list of the advantages of sharpening freehand:

Freehand is quicker because you don’t have to set up an jig each time you sharpen.

Freehand sharpening removes less metal so your tools last longer.

Freehand sharpening produces edges just as sharp as those produced with a jig.

Side-clamp jigs won’t work with very small or odd-shaped tools.

A jig is only for the beginning user. Real hand-tool users can sharpen without this little one-wheeled crutch, they say.

From the October 2004 issue #143
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