older Lie-Nielsen 4 1/2

[Griph0n Brown]

I found a six year old Lie-Nielsen 4 1/2 for sale, never used, still in the box. Does anyontone know if there have been changes made to them in this time? I'm wondering about the chipbreaker and iron in particular.

Still too much money...but how can I pass it up. Really, my wife wants to know.

[Tom Henderson2]

I found a six year old Lie-Nielsen 4 1/2 for sale, never used, still in the box. Does anyontone know if there have been changes made to them in this time? I'm wondering about the chipbreaker and iron in particular.

Still too much money...but how can I pass it up. Really, my wife wants to know.

The chipbreaker changed a while back... not sure when. The old ones looked like the old Stanley breakers, the new ones have what looks like a bevel.

The older LN's had a glossy finish to the totes/knobs; like lacquer or poly. Now they are matte oiled/waxed finish.

Not sure if the blades have always been A2 or might be a different alloy at some point.

-TH

[Danny Burns]

Not sure if the blades have always been A2 or might be a different alloy at some point.

-TH

They use to be O1 which was preferred by some to the now A2 Cyro, for the sharp edge they could be honed to, the A2 Cyro being hardier at keeping it's edge.

[David Keller NC]

"From the horse's mouth", so to speak - Thom Lie Nielsen noted that the older LN blades were actually W-1, not O-1. It's something he stated they'd like to offer again, as some woodoworkers feel they can get a sharper edge on W-1 than A-2.

But I'm not sure when they switched - I've an older bronze #4 from about 1995 or so that has the W-1 blade, the original chipbreaker, and high-gloss handles. One other distinguishing feature is that "Lie-Nielsen" isn't marked on the blade.

As to a "difference that matters", I ordered a 50 degree HAF for this plane 3 or 4 years ago, and it will not fit. The machining where the hold-down pins bear on the frog is thinner on the HAF than it is on the plane's original frog. I haven't yet found the time to address this with LN, so I don't know if that particular frog was a bit "off", or it's just that the older planes had a slightly different geometry.

[Sam Takeuchi]

Brent Beach (http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/LNW1test.html) had tested that W1 blade in 2002 and stated that:


Lie-Nielsen appears to be the only supplier of W1 steel blades, although they may be switching to A2 steelSo I guess change happened in 2002 or 2003? I'm just guessing. I don't have a definite answer.

I have never dealt with a W1 blade, but from that testing, it doesn't look all that exciting.

[Mark Roderick]

Seriously, if you decide to pass on it I'd probably like to buy it. I've been wanting a 4 1/2 for a while now.

[Tristan Raymond]

Looks like it would be $80 for a new blade and CB if it has the older versions and you want the upgrades. You could use that as a bargaining tool.

[Doug Shepard]

There's a side by side pic of the old vs new chipbreakers on LNs site
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1231
that you could use to tell which one the used one has.

[Joel Goodman]

The 4 1/2 blades are so thick that I don't think that the chipbreaker really is that important. Why not give LN a call and ask them about the differences?

[Danny Burns]

Interesting, I didn't know that they were water hardened instead of oil hardened.

I guess that O1 would be a better tool steel than W1.

http://info.lu.farmingdale.edu/depts/met/met205/toolsteels.html

Perhaps the Hock Tools blades would be a good option for those looking for O1 blade.

[lowell holmes]

I have one that is 4-5 yrs old. I don't know if it is like the one your looking at, but I wouldn't let go of mine. :)