Chisel / Block Plane Blade Honing and Sharpening Guide

Since it can be tricky to accurately hold a block plane’s blade or a chisel correctly for sharpening, this honing guide is designed to help. A chisel should start with one bevel, which is formed on the blade, usually by grinding it at a 25° angle.  The blade should be then be honed on a whetstone at around a 30° angle, until a second, satisfactorily sharp edge is created. This guide holds the blade at a constant 30° angle.

The guide uses 608 bearings to allow easy movement over the sharpening/honing stone. Hint: the bearings go into place before the axels. The blade or chisel is held in place with a set screw at the top. The two pieces of the guide's body are held together with brass inserts and M2.5 cap screws. I used PLA with a 25% infill for the print. My first attempt placed the front axle in the wrong place. It has been changed to stub piece that holds the bearing and is glued in place. I did a test print and the stub axles work well.

I worked with Michael Musgrove who helped refine the design and got the threaded parts from 3D Printy. Suggestions are welcome and encouraged.