Honing jig

Abstract

The honing jig has a base on which a whetstone or other abrasive substance is mounted. A pair of spaced guide rods extends the length of the base. A carriage is mounted to tubes which slide along the rods and through which the guide rods extend. The blade to be sharpened is held to the carriage by a clamp and the clamp swivels on the carriage to allow the inclination of the blade relative to the whetstone to be adjusted. The angle of the guide rods can be adjusted to permit fine adjustment of the inclination of the blade.

1 . A honing jig for use in sharpening an object, the honing jig comprising:
 a base adapted to support an abrasive substance thereon;   a carriage assembly constructed for releasably mounting the object to be sharpened, the base and carriage assembly being mounted with respect to each other for obtaining relative translational movement of the object mounted on the carriage assembly and the abrasive substance on the base so that a portion of the object engaging the abrasive substance is sharpened.   
   
   
       2 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the carriage assembly is mounted for selectively adjusting the angle of the object held by the carriage assembly with respect to the abrasive substance on the base. 
   
   
       3 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 2  wherein the carriage assembly comprises a fixture for releasably mounting the object and a plate, the fixture being pivotally mounted on the plate for selectively adjusting the angle of the fixture relative to the plate. 
   
   
       4 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 3  wherein the carriage assembly further comprises a connector for releasably connecting the fixture and the plate together at a fixed angle. 
   
   
       5 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 4  wherein the connector comprises a pin, the plate having openings sized to receive the pin and the fixture having corresponding openings sized to receive the pin. 
   
   
       6 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 5  wherein the openings in the fixture are arranged generally along a line that is angled with respect to a line along which the openings in the plate are arranged whereby the angle of the fixture is determined by which of the openings in the fixture receives the pin. 
   
   
       7 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 2  further comprising at least one guide rod, the carriage assembly being slidably mounted on the guide rod for movement therealong with respect to the guide rod and base. 
   
   
       8 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 7  wherein the guide rod is mounted with respect to the base for adjustment of the angle of the guide rod with respect to the base and the abrasive substance on the base. 
   
   
       9 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 8  further comprising a first support pivotally mounting the guide rod generally at one end, and a second support mounting an opposite end of the guide rod. 
   
   
       10 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 9  wherein the second support comprises a pedestal and a support block releasably mounted on the pedestal, the pedestal being formed to mount the support block at different distances from the base thereby to change the angle of the guide rod relative to the base. 
   
   
       11 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 10  wherein the pedestal is formed with steps each sized and shaped for engaging and mounting the support block. 
   
   
       12 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 10  wherein the pedestal is adapted to be releasably secured to the base in different locations on the base. 
   
   
       13 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 12  wherein the pedestal further comprises a handle for use in moving the pedestal relative to the base. 
   
   
       14 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 8  wherein the carriage assembly comprises a fixture for releasably mounting the object and a plate, the fixture being pivotally mounted on the plate for selectively adjusting the angle of the fixture relative to the plate. 
   
   
       15 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the carriage assembly is mounted on the base for movement relative to the base, the honing jig further comprising at least one adjustable stop for limiting the travel of the carriage assembly relative to the base. 
   
   
       16 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 15  further comprising at least one guide rod, the carriage assembly being slidably mounted on the guide rod for movement therealong with respect to the guide rod and base, the adjustable stop being adapted for selective positioning along the guide rod to engage the carriage assembly to limit its travel. 
   
   
       17 . A honing jig as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the base comprises a lower member and an abrasive substance support, the abrasive substance support being constructed for mounting on the lower member at different selected locations. 
   
   
       18 . A honing jig for use in sharpening a blade, the honing jig comprising:
 a base adapted to support a whetstone thereon;   guide rails pivotally mounted on the base at one end of each guide rail;   a carriage assembly comprising a slider and a fixture pivotally mounted on the slider, the slider being mounted on the guide rails for movement along the guide rails with respect to the base, the fixture being adapted to mount the blade thereon, the slider and fixture including alignable apertures, at least some of the apertures being located in positions so that the fixture must assume different angles with respect to the slider to align different apertures;   a pin receivable in selected aligned apertures thereby to fix the angular orientation of the fixture relative to the slider;   a stepped pedestal adapted to support the guide rails in a first position in which the guide rail makes a first angle with the base, and a second position in which the guide rail makes a second angle with the base different from the first angle.   
   
   
       19 . A method of honing a blade comprising:
 pivotally moving a blade fixture at a selected angle for the blade;   securing the blade fixture at the selected angle;   mounting the blade in the fixture at the selected angle;   releasing the securement of the fixture;   moving the blade into engagement with an abrasive substance;   translating the blade across the abrasive substance to hone the blade.