Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Honing guide for short chisels: length and the angle

Updated: 22 October 2026

A honing guide for short chisels fails when the blade is too short to reach the projection that sets the angle. The wheel is on the stone. The edge has to stick out past that wheel by a set distance. If the steel runs out before the mark, you cannot make that angle. This page is that one constraint. The [chisel honing guide comparison](/hub/hand-tools/chisel-honing-guide) is the amazon.co.uk table, with GBP prices from 19 October 2026. Peter F. used Trend's manual. We did not fixture a set of butt chisels. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

A honing guide for short chisels fails when the blade is too short to reach the projection that sets the angle. The wheel is on the stone. The edge has to stick out past that wheel by a set distance.

Our top picks

Saker Saker honing guide with stone

Best overall

Saker Saker honing guide with stone
7.1/10about £32.39
View offer
Faithfull Faithfull honing guide

Rank 2

Faithfull Faithfull honing guide
8.3/10about £8.15
View offer
Trend Trend honing guide DWS/HG/SET

Alternative

Trend Trend honing guide DWS/HG/SET
6.5/10about £24.95
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Why length and angle are the same problem
  2. 2.What Trend will not take
  3. 3.What short chisel means on a Saker listing
  4. 4.Guides that are built for short blades

Why length and angle are the same problem

The angle is the triangle between the stone, the roller, and the edge. Longer projection, lower angle. Shorter projection, steeper angle. If you cannot reach the projection the guide casts as 25° or 30°, you cannot get that angle. Pulling the blade back until the handle clears the stone is a different bevel. A short blade can be parallel and still be too short. A tapered chisel can be long and still slip. If your chisels are ordinary bench length, the buying guide is the better next page. A butt chisel that only reaches 15 mm of stick-out is not at Faithfull's 25° mark, which wants 40 mm on the chisel jaws. The jig will not tell you the new number.

What Trend will not take

Trend's DWS/HG/SET is not suitable for firmer chisels or short-blade butt chisels. The instruction PDF prints a minimum of 75 mm at 25°, which the Amazon page leaves out. Thickness is limited to 7 mm. At £24.95, with 4.1 from 566 reviews, it is a wide-roller block for full-length bench chisels. A steeper stop needs less projection, so a blade that fails at 25° might still meet 35° or 40°. That is a steeper bevel, not a hidden approval for butt chisels. A longer stone does not lengthen a short chisel. The degrees, for blades that do fit, are on the how to use a honing guide page.
Saker Saker honing guide with stone

Testsieger

Saker Saker honing guide with stone
7.1/10about £32.39
View offer

What short chisel means on a Saker listing

Saker's guide at £18.76, with 4.2 from 465 reviews, and the Saker kit at £32.39, with 4.5 from 811 reviews, both put short chisels in the title. Both claim an off-centre roller and a width of 0.2–2.55 inches. Neither prints a minimum blade length. The off-centre roller lets the body sit back while a shorter blade reaches. That is a design idea, not a floor you can check against 75 mm. Some UK buyers say short chisels work, and that the body can foul the stone until it is chamfered. A modification is not a manufacturer's minimum. The kit's 400/1000 plate is short enough that buyers say the roller runs off the end. If the only chisels you own are butt chisels, the best honing guide page will send you away from the Faithfull and the Trend.

Guides that are built for short blades

The jigs made for this problem are not in the twelve ASINs. Axminster lists the Veritas short-blade honing guide from £47.40, for blades up to 66 mm wide and 6.35 mm thick, at 25° or 30°, aimed at spokeshave blades and other short blades. It is not a Saker listing under another name. The Mk.II, from about £52 at Axminster in the digest, is also outside this set. Those are shop prices, not Amazon stickers from the saved listings. If every chisel you own is a butt chisel, buy one of those guides, or hone freehand and watch the bevel. Do not assume Faithfull's 40 mm mark will appear on a blade that is only 70 mm from handle to edge.

Common questions

Why does a short chisel fail in a roller guide?
The angle is the projection past the roller. If the blade is shorter than that projection, the edge never reaches the mark, or the handle and the guide body hit the stone first. You get a steeper bevel, or no controlled bevel at all. Pulling the blade back is a different angle, not a clever setup.
What is Trend's minimum length?
The manual says 75 mm at 25°, with thickness up to 7 mm, and it excludes firmer chisels and short-blade butt chisels. The amazon.co.uk listing repeats the exclusion and does not print 75 mm. Use the manual for the length. Width on that guide is 10–32 mm for chisels. A steeper stop is not an approval for butt chisels.
Does the Saker listing prove it hones butt chisels?
It claims short chisels and an off-centre roller, at 0.2–2.55 inches, and it does not print a minimum length. Some UK buyers say short chisels work. One chamfered the holder so the body would clear the stone. That is not a measured approval for every butt chisel. The 400/1000 plate is a separate length problem.
What is a firmer chisel doing in the same exclusion?
Trend names firmer chisels beside short butt chisels. The thickness cap is 7 mm, so a thick firmer fails even when it is long. Parallel chunky sides are also a poor match for a jaw that was drawn around a thinner bevel-edge chisel. Do not discover that by cracking the jaw screw.
Is there a UK shop guide made for short blades?
Axminster lists the Veritas short-blade honing guide from £47.40, up to 66 mm wide and 6.35 mm thick, at 25° or 30°, for spokeshave and other short blades. It is not one of the ASINs in this comparison. A registration jig such as the Mk.II is a different purchase again, and it is also outside this set.
Can I shorten the projection and accept a steeper angle?
You can, and the angle will be steeper than the 25° or 30° mark you skipped. The jig will not calculate the new number for you. Do that only when a steeper bevel is what you want. It does not turn a Trend guide into a butt-chisel guide, and it does not make Faithfull's 40 mm mark appear on a short blade.

Related pages

Side clamp or angle fixture

Chisel honing guide

Best honing guide for chisels: who should skip which

Honing guide for chisels and plane irons: how to choose

How to use a honing guide without rounding the edge

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 19 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file.

  1. Faithfull Tools, FAIHG honing guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Faithfull honing guide instructions (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Trend DWS/HG/SET diamond honing guide set (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Trend DWS/HG instruction sheet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods remedies (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. HSE, woodworking standards (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Common Woodworking, using a honing guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)