: To sharpen a low angle block plane is it a good idea to purchase a honing
: guide and angle jig? The Veritas system costs around $33 in combo or I can
: get the guide separately for around $12. Do I need both?

: Also, if I don't use the sandpaper and glass sharpening method, what grit
: waterstones would you suggest?

Hi Gregory, it's pretty easy to plane softwoods without worrying too much about the exact angle of your bevels. I normally just put my waterstones on a low work surface and hand-hold the blade. The exception being: when I want to regrind the whole bevel. In that case I put the blade in a honing guide and work against various course grits of Silicon Carbide paper (on the garage floor) and a 220 stone. The Stanley honing guide has an angle guide incorporated into it. See http://www.garrettwade.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&itemID=102326&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=10000&iSubCat=10049&iProductID=102326 It's nothing fancy but works fine.

I have two Norton combination stones which give me four grits 220, 1000, 4000, 8000. That's a pretty economical way to go. It's worth it to get a $10 jeweler's loup in order to examine your edge; that helps you figure out which grit to start with.

www.ChipSandresky.com/lorettaandchip.html