Lie-Nielsen Honing Guide vs. Veritas MK.II Honing Guide | Tool Duel #1

"Welcome to the first video of a new series I am starting on YouTube, Tool Duel.

This series focuses on comparing tools of different styles from various manufacturers to find out which one suits your needs best. If you have any requests of tools you would like me to duel, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do!
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PRODUCTS RECOMMENDED IN THIS VIDEO:
🔸 Lie-Nielsen Honing Guide
🔸 Veritas MK.II Honing
🔸 Honing Guide
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🕵️‍♂️ WHO AM I?:
My name is Matt Estlea and I’m a Woodworker from Basingstoke, England. My aim is to make your woodworking less s***.

I come from 5 years of TRAINING at Rycotewood Furniture Centre in Oxford, 5 years of experience WORKING at Axminster Tools and Machinery in Basingstoke, and 3 years TEACHING both day classes and evening classes at Rycotewood Furniture Centre. All while trying to get this YouTube thing off the ground.

By September 2021, I packed it all in to focus on YouTube and my business full-time.

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[Wesstuntube]

Thanks for the thorough overview - it helped a lot, even though I ended up going with the Veritas.
What killed the Lie Nielsen for me is the price. $125 US for the jig itself. Another $35 for the long jaw pair. Another $70 for the 2 skew jaw pairs that allow you to do left and right skew chisels, assuming you only want to do 30 degree skew chisels. If you wanna do left and right 18 degree skew chisels add on another $70. We're talking $300 for a fully-equipped honing guide that can handle all of the common situations, and you STILL have to make your own angle registration jig of some sort.
The Veritas deluxe honing guide is $125 and includes both the wide and narrow heads, the flat and cambered rollers, and the proper angle registration jig. Throw in another $35 for the skew registration jig, and you're set for left and right skew chisels of any angle. We're ready for anything for $160, which is about half the cost.
I totally believe in buying quality, but the Veritas is quality. Quality for half the price is something I can live with, even if I have to tighten an additional knob.

[spolz]

7 year old video that is still relevant. Well done and thanks.

[CafeenMan]

I disagree about the Veritas honing guide regarding it being "fiddly". It's actually very simple and quick to set up. I would agree with you if I was always using it for the first or second time when I was trying to figure it out but once I learned how to use it I can get it set up with the blade ready to sharpen in less than a minute (not counting all the time I spend looking for the various parts because I keep "reorganizing" and can't remember where I moved everything).

Now it does have an actual flaw though. It can't do really short blades. And until a short while ago it didn't do narrow blades very well because not matter how much you tightened the blade it could shift. They now have a narrow blade adapter that works great. Not sure if they have a short blade adapter but I have to use a different guide for them or sharpen by hand.

[Cygnusvailand]

As an owner of the "budget" eclipse style honing guide I think the function it best serves is making me appreciate the need for a premium honing guide

[dougdaley]

Matt your reviews always provide great insight into why different options might suit certain scenarios rather than just biasing your reviews on your own workflow. It’s been absolutely fantastic as a new hand tool woodworker over the last year collecting my toolbox.

[scottinharwood]

Have to admit, dulling tools is more fun. I use a worksharp for most of my sharpening; it sits on my bench ready for a refresh of the micro bevel and I am off. I also occasionally use the Veritas on a flat granite stone that accepts a full sheet of wet-dry sandpaper of grits from 400 through 4000 for plane blades. I on and off get hand-me-down chisels; yard sales, relatives, etc. I have to set aside a half day at a time typically just to flatten the backs, regrind the primary bevel to remove the chips and dings put there by folks who think chisels are hammers or screwdrivers (used them as pry bars, screw drivers and paint can openers.) I have had to make new handles for half of these. Great post!

[terencebrown]

I bought a veritas honing guide from you guys in 2007. What a brilliant piece of kit it is and still is giving me good service. I would recommend it to any joiner. I bought an Ezelap diamond stone, the pair are unbeatable. I always finish my plane blades and chisels off with a leather stop. 😎

[alan_wood]

Your video was useful and interesting, thank you. I have just bought the Veritas based on this and other videos. I can totally see why you didn't get on with it. As a professional, your time is money and the Veritas does take longer to use. As a hobbyist, the cost of the guide is very important. I got the flat and cambered roller, and the wide and narrow clamps for less than the cost of the basic Lie-Nielson guide. £125 delivered. I don't mind taking my time and the Veritas seems almost fool-proof for a dabbler like me. Once again, thank you for your advice and help.

[HpG]

I have the Veritas MK.II one, and really like it's versatility. Plane blade, chisel, skew blade, short blade, it does them all. You make it sound complex, but I find it very easy and quick to use. Yes I was glad they introduced the side clamping option for very narrow chisels. Since I already had the Camber Roller, I asked Veritas to send me an additional brass knob (which they did for free) to mount the strait roller on it, and have now two dedicated guides for plane blade and chisel respectively. It is nice that Lie Nielsen has made the screw captive, because there are 4 of them and they are small. But comparing losing tiny screw with a big brass knob is unfair in my opinion. There is only one brass knob on the Veritas that you need to remove when you change the roller. The other two that clamp the blade are normally never completely removed. These are two very good (and expensive) guide, but as you point out, the Veritas is more versatile... and for us in Canada, almost half the price!

[SkylersRants]

After making do with the cheap $12 model, I finally splurged and bought the Lie-Nielsen honing guide. What a HUGE difference! It is so much nicer to use. I really think it is worth the money, even though it seems so similar to the cheaper one, it's not.

[j]

I have the Veritas II honing system. It’s great quality, never had any of the “fiddly” come loose. Takes less than minute to set up honing guide to set angle.

[MrSteamDragon]

Hi Matt, if you lose the screws out of the veritas then the problem is the user, not the tool 😉😄
Agreed it is a little fiddly to begin with but with frequent use it soon becomes second nature. The main advantage I found was i can put skewed blades in the Veritas (such as a millers falls 07).
BTW, great channel.👍🏼🇦🇺

[enhypostasis]

You summed it up nicely: for a regular workshop workflow and the aesthetic feel of an intuitive craftsman using a well-machined stainless steel honing guide, it is the lie nielsen; for someone who doesn't sharpen as often, or needs to save money, or isn't as artisanal purist, then the Veritas zinc alloy and brass holds you in good stead. The Lie Nielsen toolshop video basically makes this case, demonstrating all the ways the tool already deals with the veritas problem-solving approach; it makes the case that it doesn't need to be integral, as it is an heirloom tool for craftsman with skills. If I had started 30 years ago, I would have gone for the Lie Nielsen. As a newbie hobbyist with not much of a workshop or workflow or time to practice proficiency, I went for the Veritas. But I prefer the look and concept of the Lie Nielsen, for sure.

[snowwalker]

I have two Veritas honing guide, one for the plane blades with camber roller and one for the chisels with straight roller.

[adampatterson]

The Veritas Deluxe set is around 150 CAD which is about on par with the Australian dollar for anyone who is wondering. It will also do straight and rounded blades.

[alasdairreed]

Veritas is definitely the best . I've had one for over 15 years it does a great job no screwdriver or extra jig required but I do agree with the comment on the problem with the chisels . The only thing is you must keep the roller oiled the other day after a long time of not using it it I started honing, honed the roller and the blade together . Luckily the replacement roller was cheap ! I like your angle jig.

[geomiss]

What I like about the Veritas mk2 is the wide roller, that notches for a micro bevel and the consistency it embraces for the minimum metal needed to remove. Metal removed to bring the blade/chisel back to sharpness is a big deal.

[Vanderloo]

Very helpful. Thank You. I just ordered the lie-nielsen

[danthechippie]

I purchased the lie- Nielsen guide about a year ago for my Stanley chisels. It works great and I highly recommend it. A bit expensive for sure especially when I had to import it to Ireland

[ionut]

I bought the LN honing guide and I regret the decision. I discovered a flaw that was confirmed by the manufacturer. The standard jaws won't clamp the LN 1/4" bevel edge chisel as advertised, simple because the side bevels of the 1/4" and subsequently smaller chisels are steeper than the larger counterparts. The jaws clamps the chisel by the narrow face and since the chisel is tapered in thickness, the tip of the chisel moves freely in the jaws. Now I I have to order the chisel jaws as well, a total of 3 pair of jaws(chisel, standard, long). I took some photos, I can share them with anyone interested. I am returning the guide.