EZARC Chisel Honing Guide, Jig Metal Angle Sharpener

I’ve tried several of this style of sharpening guides and this is the best one I’ve come across to date. I use it for plane irons and chisels. It can still be a little challenging to set up for certain chisel widths but overall a decent little guide. Would recommend.

This honing guide has a far better construction than the standard grey eclipse honing guide. With the grey honing guide, the wheel would often get stuck and drag across the stone resulting in flats spots. When you try to hone, the guide feels like it’s rolling on a octagon rather than a wheel. The EZARC bearing wheels are well-machined and hard. There’s no sign of flat spots developing and the wheel remains smooth and balanced. The grey honing guide also tends to slip while honing, even when you tighten it down with a screwdriver. I havent had this problem with the EZARC, most likely because of the finish they’ve used which is kind of tacky feeling. I’ve owned quite a few honing guides including the lie-nielsen and the EZARC works just as well in my opinion. Both guides will produce a sharp and square edge and neither will make the job easier than the other. If you like nice things and appreciate the work that goes into making them then buy the lie-nielsen. If you just want to get your tools sharp and get back to work and dont really care how the tool looks then go with the EZARC. Just don’t buy the lie-nielsen thinking it will magically improve your honing skills. I’ve seen complaints that this guide will not produce a square edge and that it does not hold the blade down flat. In my experience, producing a square edge comes down to technique and not the honing guide. Even with the lie-nielsen honing guide you can hone your edge out of square if you’re not mindful of your technique. You want to apply even pressure on the edge of the blade. If you are having a hard time doing that because you’re taking more metal from one edge than the other, than try just holding pressure in the very middle of the edge. You do not want to move your arms back and forth. Lock your wrists and arms into place and roll forward and back on the balls of your feet. This will ensure that you are not applying more pressure on one side as you go forward and the other as you roll back. On to the matter of the jaws. In order for these honing guides to hold your blade squarely, one jaw has to be flat on its edge( the square edge) and the other is round at the edge (the point of pressure that holds the blade securely and keeps it from wobbling). So when you see people posting pictures of the mismatched jaws, just know that it is a vital part of the design. Now, it is true that the back of the blade does not sit flat on both jaws because the jaws tend to push up in the middle as you tighten them down. However, because the sides of the jaws hold the blade in tension so well, it does not seem to cause any problems that I have seen. As I said, it all comes down to technique. I did find that the measurements provided to achieve a 25/30 angle were off. I would suggest buying a magnetic angle reader. Set the honing guide to the desired angle and then save that angle for repeated use with a honing guide jig. I would definitely recommend this product.

I have in the past always honed chisels freehand as taught at school with a good degree of success. Using this honing guide just removes most errors. The guide is robust enough to do the job and the guide wheel of 2 bearings is steady. I note it is really meant for bevel edge chisels none of which I have so the chisel fit is next to the 2 guide bars so is lower in the tool than design .I found to achieve 30 degree cutting edge requires 25mm overhang not 30mm as for bevel edge chisels. I have sharpened most of my chisels with ease but I did find 1/4inch rather difficult ,honing guide would not grip sides of chisel ,may well be OK on a bevel edge. On the whole it has worked fine for me and I finished with a quality cutting edge with ease.