ATLIN Honing Guide - Sharpening Jig for Chisels 1/8” to 1-7/8”, Planer Blades 1-3/8” to 3-1/8”

This honing guide is very simple to use and the instructions are clear and well-worded.The guide will accept most chisels types and plane blades. I tested it with an old chisel and a medium oil stone. It is important to clamp the chisel in the guide using pliers or a large screwdriver; hand tight will not hold (the instructions also state this). I was able to achieve a perfect bevel on the first attempt. Would recommend and would buy again.

This is a good sharpening aid for someone who can't afford or just doesn't want to pay the money for a premium or semi-premium honing guide.The machining and casting is better than any other imitations of the Eclipse #23 that I have used. The flexing of the jaws on the parallel guide bars is minimal. I used to own a genuine Eclipse honing guide. It was very old. By the time I had purchased it the jaws were flexing as badly as the jaws on the knock-offs. Eventually the flexing of the jaws on the Aitlin guide will get worse too. If you get ten years of service for $15.00 (2021) that is a good value IMO.If you read and follow the directions you will get good results. However, be aware of the possibility that your blade can twist in all three positions of the jaws. The center position (for bevel edged chisels) is especially prone to this when using narrow chisels of say 1/4" or less. Loosening the jaws ever so slightly will allow you to correct the twist without having to reset the tool all over again. I haven't had any of the quality control issues like some other reviewers.This guide works great on abrasive films (dry) diamond plates (wet or dry) and water stones up to 8000 grit. However, the wheel will not roll on 1 micron films that have been wetted with a water based lubricant. It drags. Likewise, the wheel drags on a black Arkansas stone that has been lubricated with mineral oil. It doesn't drag on a lubricated soft Arkansas stone.FYI-I bought this just to try it out. I typically use a Veritas Mk II honing guide. In fact I own the whole system. It is a substantial investment. The Aitlin guide delivers similar results but requires more vigilance and fiddling. I also know how to sharpen freehand. I prefer a good guide because it is easier for me to get consistent results. I've never used a Lie-Nielsen honing guide. Therefore, I cannot compare it to the Aitlin. I hope this review is helpful.

worked great

Okay, first off I was worried from some negative reviews, but went ahead with this anyway. After using it, I realized there is a big factor in success: reading the simple single sheet of instructions. It clearly says how a mortise chisel (the type with the straight sides - sheesh there is even a diagram example) is secured at a different place on the jig. My Marples and my Stanley chisels are all mortise chisels, and I imagine this is the most common type used (as the directions even say, it is probably a mortise chisel if you don't know).Following the simple instructions, I was able to secure 2 different types of Stanley plane irons and 4 different chisels (size 1/2 to 1"). I had previously sharpened my plane irons free hand on my diamond plates and thought I did okay. When I used the jig - wow did I notice what a horrible job I did freehand! I am surprised anyone would recommend doing this freehand. When you think about it, it is like saying you can do a better job using a table saw without a fence or sled. Here you are doing hundreds or thousands of cuts and want consistency to have a uniform angle and edge. The human body flexes - even if you have locked your wrists the best you can. Power to those superhumans that can achieve a fine edge doing this freehand, but for me and I imagine most people out there, it was much easier to put the blades in a jig.It is a very simple device. You lock in the blade in the appropriate slot, extending it to the length you want for the desired angle (suggestion: use a quality ruler with millimeters if you want to be precise. Make a quick cheap wooden jig for depth of future sharpening or other tools). For my chisels, I found the angle while I had it in the jig and then secured it rather than using the length to determine angle. After that it was just a matter of sharpening away. I didn't have to worry that it would be consistent - just held the pressure at the tip of the blade and made sure I wasn't lifting off the back wheel and went to it. From the brand new Marples chisel I was setting up to the antique Stanley #5 plane iron (circa 1941) this did a brilliant job on diamond plates and wetstones. I followed methodology from some woodworking channels and was able to achieve a mirror edge and cut paper with all blades. I did stropping freehand because I figured I could do little damage to the angle I had created with stones, so I can't say how it works for that but I imagine the same principal - maybe the wheel would sink in the leather a bit.As far as any naysayers about the build quality, I didn't notice any issues. Maybe there was some slight cast slag here and there but nothing that made me think low quality. For less than $20 it did the job and I imagine it will be solid for many sharpening sessions.

While being fairly adequate it does tend to wobble a bit causing an out of square edge being applied to the end of the chisel. Must pay close attention to keep it square.