All right- that system looks cumbersome, but I suppose if you were left in a dimly lit room and those were the only materials you had at hand it would be a good solution.

Anyway- I gave up on water stones, and here's why- they don't stay flat. So your blades don't stay flat. To get the stones flat once they're not flat you have to remove material, which is money down the drain.

I switched to mylar sheets because even mounted on a piece of MDF they are flatter to begin with and stay flatter, and when they start to loose their abrasive you don't have to get out your nagura or diamond hone to flatten them, you just rip off your sheet and stick down another one. I also like using mineral oil to clean the swarth instead of water. No rust or black flecks on my work from oxidizing swarth.

One of the best features of the Veritas jig is the cam on the wheel that allow you to set an accurate and repeatable microbevel. You don't need to sharpen the whole thing, so it barely takes any time, and the blades last longer because you aren't grinding them away as quickly.

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