Apparatus and method for automated honing of elongated straight-edged cutting blades

An apparatus for automated honing of elongated straight-edged cutting blades said apparatus comprising in combination, a support frame having assembled thereto a blade holder support provided with a vertically reciprocal blade set jig cooperatively assembled to said support frame for registering a cutting edge of said blade, said jig in turn cooperative with a blade register end stop at a honing head station infeed end thereof being perpendicularly positioned to said longitudinal axis of said apparatus, a plurality of regularly spaced clamp means assembled to said blade holder support being adapted to registrably secure by means of said jig and said blade register end stop at least one sharpened elongated straight-edged cutting blade compressively thereto for automated honing, a moveable blade honing station at a place of beginning longitudinally displaced from said blade holder support linearly along the longitudinal axis of said apparatus, a cooperative plurality of orbitally driven blade honing heads comprising said blade honing station, a pneumatic drive piston assembly for cyclicly displacing said moveable blade honing station from said place of beginning along said longitudinal axis co sequentially engage and progressively hone a cutting edge of said sharpened elongated straight-edged cutting blade to a finished honed state on a single longitudinally displaced cycle thereby, and a recycle switch assembly to automatically return said moveable blade honing station to said place of beginning at the end of said single longitudinally displaced cycle.