Carbide Tipped Planer Knife Set for DeWalt DW735

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I don't remember seeing any commentary on the Carbide Tipped Planer Knife Set for the DeWalt DW735 as sold by Holbren.

http://www.holbren.com/planer-knife-set-for-dewalt-dw735-carbide-tipped.html

Some time back (couple of years) I purchased a used DeWalt DW735 Planer. I fixed it up and purchased a few extra blades. They were OK, did nice cuts, but I needed to replace them more often than I expected. This from hobby use with what I considered mostly light use. So, I decided to try the Carbide Tipped Planer Knife set from Holbren.

The knives come with no instructions, I mean, why would you need instructions? The normal blades are set in place, and then a metal piece is set on top of the blade to hold it in place. A screw is then run through this to hold both items in place. I installed the Holbren blades exactly as I installed the original sets and ran a piece of wood through. The problem is that the new blades are thicker, so the screws left gouges in the wood (and it was not good for the screws either).

Sent an email off to Holbren, which they answered immediately. Seems that with the thicker blade, the metal blade retainer is not required. Remove the metal blade retainer, rescrew and off I went. This produced that nice surface that I am used to.

I am still on my first blade, and it seems to be lasting longer than the other blades. In other words, so far I have been very pleased with them.

So, how much lumber have I run through my planer with the new blades? Sadly, I don't really know. I am guessing that I have emptied my sawdust bag four or five times. I have run mostly cherry, hard maple, and ash through the planer, but I have done some other woods as well (such as white oak).

I opted for the carbide tipped blades because I was concerned about installing a Shelix head on a second hand DW735.

[Andrew Hughes]

I have the ones from infinity been using them for several years now.I think the machine will die before the blades are too short.Have you seen my cleaver jig for sharpening?

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I have not seen the jig..... Have you posted it? Would love to see them. What do you use to sharpen carbide? Diamond?

Are the Infinity blades similar? Do you still use the metal blade retainer?

[Bobby O'Neal]

Love the jig, Andrew H.

I have the same planer and have definitely been wanting a solution to what I feel like are poor blades/blade options. How often are you sharpening them?

[Andrew Hughes]

Thanks,Bobby I have sharpend them twice myself the first sharpening was done by a local saw service.And they did a terrible job.A moment of clarity and i made the jig.Watch out for the tips of your fingers i cut mine the first time using the jig.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Too smooth! What angle is the saw set at to make the grooves? Are they 1/8" blades? I can't even remember how thick they are.

[Larry Frank]

I just looked on the Infinity site and HSS blades are about $75 and carbide tip about $225. Are the carbide tipped worth 3 times as much?

I love the jig for sharpening the blades and would love to see more details about it.

[Paul Cahill]

I have the ones from infinity been using them for several years now.I think the machine will die before the blades are too short.Have you seen my cleaver jig for sharpening?

Very interesting! What angle?

Thanks,
Paul

[Andrew Hughes]

45 on the table saw.If you use a lot of water things swell up so tap the blades out sideways. I also don't use the metal retainer that came with the machine but I did add washers.
One thing I did notice the planer barely snipes.After backing off the knives

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I have never sharpened a blade and I am on my first set of the Holbren blades. Of course, theirs are a bit over $120, so much cheaper than the infinity. Unsure what carbide tipped means in terms of sharpenability, but it is worth a try when they wear down.

[Tom Walz]

Roughly, roughly carbide can last up to 100 times as long as steel.

Be very careful handlignit as the edges can chip (or spall or flake). Assume you are handling a piece of glass with a sharp edge. (It is tougher than that but that is a good mental image.)

Carbide generally requires diamond.

[Michael Heffernan]

Resurrecting this thread. I'm thinking about getting a set of carbide blades for my DW735. Can't tell you how many sets of HSS knives I've gone through in 9 years. I've used Dewalt and Infinity knives on this machine and both, IMO knick and dull fairly quickly. I run hardwood lumber, rough and planed through it, no metal or foreign substances on or in the wood. But after maybe 20 feet, the finish is not so smooth and small ridges are on the boards. Yeah, these steel blades knick easily with hardwoods.
So, I'm thinking of getting a set of carbide knives, either from Holbren or Infinity. Holbren's knives are 100 bucks less than Infinity's but only come with one edge on each blade. Do the Infinity knives have double edges on each blade?
Can anyone attest to the quality of each in respect to the other brand? Any tech info on the carbide used on each of the blades? Guess I can call both places and get the tech specs, but I'd like some more feedback from real end users of both before I pull the trigger. Looks like those who have replied so far like the carbide and feel it is worth the investment. Any others out there?
Andrew P., are the Holbren knives still sharp and planing well?
Andrew H., approx how many BF did you run through the planer before resharpening the Infinity knives?

[John W Johnson]

Resurrecting this thread. I'm thinking about getting a set of carbide blades for my DW735. Can't tell you how many sets of HSS knives I've gone through in 9 years. I've used Dewalt and Infinity knives on this machine and both, IMO knick and dull fairly quickly. I run hardwood lumber, rough and planed through it, no metal or foreign substances on or in the wood. But after maybe 20 feet, the finish is no so smooth and small ridges are on the boards. Yeah, these steel blades knick easily with hardwoods.
So, I'm thinking of getting a set of carbide knives, either from Holbren or Infinity. Holbren's knives are 100 bucks less than Infinity's but only come with one edge on each blade. Do the Infinity knives have double edges on each blade?
Can anyone attest to the quality of each in respect to the other brand? Any tech info on the carbide used on each of the blades? Guess I can call both places and get the tech specs, but I'd like some more feedback from real end users of both before I pull the trigger. Looks like those who have replied so far like the carbide and feel it is worth the investment. Any others out there?
Andrew P., are the Holbren knives still sharp and planing well?
Andrew H., approx how many BF did you run through the planer before resharpening the Infinity knives?

i got the Infinity carbide over 18 months ago. I just sold the planer this past week and those blades were still running well. I was going thru a set of the DeWalt replacement blades every 2-3 months. I thought the last two sets I put on were terrible, they were a lot sorrier than the original blades. I agonized over spending $200 plus on carbide as opposed to the HSS. I came out ahead money wise and i am pretty sure the new owner can sharpen at least a couple of times with a microbevel. I'm glad I got the carbide, but if I'd known Holbren had them for a lot less I'd probably have gone that route. The carbide blade is much thicker so you do not need the blade support bars. And the blade only cuts on one side.

[Andrew Hughes]

Hi Micheal,I don't remember how many feel when I first got the knives for my dealt.I ran quite a bit of teak some ebony and just recently mesquite.I have a larger planer now with bryd head.I like the dewalt for small stuff and the flat surface it leaves .
I thought the infinity carbide was very fine and sharpened nicely.That may be the difference in price but I really don't know for sure.Bye

[Dan Friedrichs]

I want to hear more about Andrew's jig :) Are those thin strips just shims to hold the blades tightly in the slots? And do the tips of the blades stick above the surface, so the diamond plate only rubs the metal?

[Andrew Hughes]

Correct The saw blade left a kerf larger than the blade.I also mark the edge with a sharpe when the ink is gone stop.I like a micro back bevel on my knives but it may not be needed for most woods.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

But after maybe 20 feet, the finish is not so smooth and small ridges are on the boards. Yeah, these steel blades knick easily with hardwoods.

If you only get 20 feet before your your surface is poor, well, I am afraid to comment because I got much more than that out of the stock blades.

I have not even attempted to track how many BF I can run through, but, I can say the following:



For me this is a hobby, and I am over committed in time. As such, my blades receive much less use than someone else.
I am still on my first set of Holbren blades, and the finish still looks great.
I usually take light passes (about half a crank each time).
I have emptied my dust collection bag four to six times (I think) on the same set of blades. Note that my dust collector is a Jet DC1100 or 1200, I don't even remember. I purchased it used some years back.
I ran mostly hard maple, cherry, and, most recently, ash.


I have another set of Holbren blades sitting and waiting for when I need to change the blades.