Tersa vs. Terminus?

[John Sincerbeaux]

Does anyone have experience with BOTH these blade styles? On another WW forum, I read that the TERMINUS HSS and Carbide blades generally stay sharper 4-5 times longer than TERSA?

Thanks

[J.R. Rutter]

Terminus style knives have more/thicker support behind the cutting edge, so probably less fragile. I have them on different machines that get different levels of usage, so hard to compare. It does seem like the Tersas get small knicks and other minor edge damage faster.

[Erik Loza]

I've never used Terminus but will say this about Tersa. A lot of it has to do with knife selection and obviously, the actual workpiece. In other words, if someone is using something like Chrome steel Tersa knives and plans to plane a ton of teak flooring, then of course the longevity will be terrible and the knives will take lots of damage. Carbide tersa knives would be a better choice in that case. Or, if someone is running a bunch of salvaged lumber through the planer, obviously the random screw/nail/bullet or whatever will damage any knife. You just need to be careful about what you run through the planer. I'm not saying this is the case here but I do talk to guys pretty routinely who seem to be under the impression that this or that cutterhead will be the silver bullet of cutterheads and somehow give a magical combination of finish quality, longevity, ease of knife change, etc. There is no magic bullet. It's all a compronise.

Also, the other determining factor is board-feet. The hobbyist who only fires up his planer on the weekends is not going to have the same experience or issues that the guy who is running flooring five days a week, does. So, think about your own duty cycle. Just my 2-cents.

Erik

Also,

[David Kumm]

Tersa will be faster to swap and Terminus works better with a retrofit. The extra steel on the Terminus may give a little longer life but not enough to judge as not as long as heavy straight knives with a jointed edge. Terminus makes good quality heads. Dave

[Erik Loza]

I just remembered those Kanefusa coated Tersa knives. Alledegedly more durable than HSS but with equivalent cut quality. All the Martin machines had them at the last big show.

http://www.kanefusa.net/en/products/000307.html

Erik

[Rick Fisher]

I just ordered replacement knives for mine, I use the M+ type blades. No idea if they are better but they say for hardwoods.

I prefer Tersa to anything. I owned a Helical planer for quite a few years and chose Tersa over Helical on my current planer.

[Jim Becker]

I don't know anything about the Terminus system, but I'm extremely satisfied with Tersa. Instant registration, reversible, easy and quick to "slide one over" in case of a nick and I get good life from the knives.

[David Zaret]

i can't speak to terminus, but nothing i've seen beats the cut quality of sharp tersa knives. i have the opportunity to swap the head on my j/p out for a spiral carbide, and that's not going to happen. yes, tersa knives don't last as long as carbide inserts, and when they get dull they get loud... but the cut quality is unparalleled, and the changeover speed is comically fast.

i have the kanefusa tersa knives, and they are indeed longer-lasting than the M+ or HSS. but, i don't think i'll buy another set. if you look at the cost of a set of them vs. carbides, which can be sharpened, i just don't see it. for the price of a set of kanefusas, i can buy a bunch of sets of HSS/M+, and use my carbides for roughing, the HSS/M+ for finished work as needed. i personally don't see a future for kanefusa trersas in my shop.. though the quality is good.

if they were 2x or even 3x the cost of the HSS/M+, i'd do it, but they are far more than that.

--- dz

[Erik Loza]

....i have the kanefusa tersa knives, and they are indeed longer-lasting than the M+ or HSS. but, i don't think i'll buy another set. if you look at the cost of a set of them vs. carbides, which can be sharpened, i just don't see it. for the price of a set of kanefusas, i can buy a bunch of sets of HSS/M+, and use my carbides for roughing, the HSS/M+ for finished work as needed. i personally don't see a future for kanefusa trersas in my shop.. though the quality is good. if they were 2x or even 3x the cost of the HSS/M+, i'd do it, but they are far more than that...

Interesting. Thanks for sharing that feedback.

Erik

[Larry Edgerton]

i can't speak to terminus, but nothing i've seen beats the cut quality of sharp tersa knives. i have the opportunity to swap the head on my j/p out for a spiral carbide, and that's not going to happen. yes, tersa knives don't last as long as carbide inserts, and when they get dull they get loud... but the cut quality is unparalleled, and the changeover speed is comically fast.

i have the kanefusa tersa knives, and they are indeed longer-lasting than the M+ or HSS. but, i don't think i'll buy another set. if you look at the cost of a set of them vs. carbides, which can be sharpened, i just don't see it. for the price of a set of kanefusas, i can buy a bunch of sets of HSS/M+, and use my carbides for roughing, the HSS/M+ for finished work as needed. i personally don't see a future for kanefusa trersas in my shop.. though the quality is good.

if they were 2x or even 3x the cost of the HSS/M+, i'd do it, but they are far more than that.

--- dz

I switched my SCM planer to carbide Tersa's, and the finish is better than M42. I was surprised. I just ran a couple thousand feet of Makore across a set and they were dull, but still serviceable. M42 will do about 20 feet of Makore before it is folded over.

I feel it is worth the investment. Just an FYI.

[Brian Gumpper]

Used Tersa but not Terminus. My only comment is the person on the other forum could have had some of the Tersa style knives out there that are not of the same steel quality as Tersa factory knives. I'm told some of them even use Tersa branded packaging.

[David Zaret]

I switched my SCM planer to carbide Tersa's, and the finish is better than M42. I was surprised. I just ran a couple thousand feet of Makore across a set and they were dull, but still serviceable. M42 will do about 20 feet of Makore before it is folded over.

I feel it is worth the investment. Just an FYI.


this is interesting. i put carbides on my martin J/P and found that they definitely (obviously) stay fresher, longer, but they are duller. i didn't notice it on the 2000+ feet of sapele - guess it was soft enough to not particularly matter. but on hard or figured material, or old cherry, i had to swap out the blades as only the M+/HSS would give a fine finished cut. my plan is to send in the carbides to have them honed, but it's a concern. i'll revisit the carbides - thanks for the feedback.

[David Zaret]

Used Tersa but not Terminus. My only comment is the person on the other forum could have had some of the Tersa style knives out there that are not of the same steel quality as Tersa factory knives. I'm told some of them even use Tersa branded packaging.


i buy from tersaknives.com in canada. anyone have experience with them?

[Joe Calhoon]

I also agree that I will probably not buy Kanafusa again. They last a long time but the fact they cannot be resharpened is a negative. I have not noticed the carbide is duller. I will note that my carbide clones are Leitz brand so don't know if they are different from Tersa brand. We also got some Leitz HSS Tersa clones years ago that we are still using and can be resharpened. They last longer than the Kanafusa. They were expensive but not as much as carbide.

we have been running nothing but VG Fir the last couple months. I put M42 Tersa in the S4S machine while the carbides were out for sharpening. M42 is fine for this material but anything with knots or hard wood will destroy them quickly.

We run 2 knives in our 4 knife heads. 4 knives in the jointer is noticeably better because its hand fed but cannot tell the difference on the other machines.

[Erik Loza]

...only the M+/HSS would give a fine finished cut...

This has been my experience as well: Nothing beats HSS as far as finish quality on Tersa.

Erik

[David Zaret]

I also agree that I will probably not buy Kanafusa again. They last a long time but the fact they cannot be resharpened is a negative. I have not noticed the carbide is duller. I will note that my carbide clones are Leitz brand so don't know if they are different from Tersa brand. We also got some Leitz HSS Tersa clones years ago that we are still using and can be resharpened. They last longer than the Kanafusa. They were expensive but not as much as carbide.

we have been running nothing but VG Fir the last couple months. I put M42 Tersa in the S4S machine while the carbides were out for sharpening. M42 is fine for this material but anything with knots or hard wood will destroy them quickly.

We run 2 knives in our 4 knife heads. 4 knives in the jointer is noticeably better because its hand fed but cannot tell the difference on the other machines.


joe can you provide more information on the sharpenable leitz tersas? where do you get them, and who sharpens them? much appreciated.

[Chris Padilla]

I just remembered those Kanefusa coated Tersa knives. Alledegedly more durable than HSS but with equivalent cut quality. All the Martin machines had them at the last big show.

http://www.kanefusa.net/en/products/000307.html

Erik

I have the Kanefusa blades as well but being a hobbyist, they are still in their package so I've yet to take 'em out and try them. I'm not sure I would be able to say one way or the other if they last longer than regular Tersa knives. I paid $53.51 per blade (ordered 6). I don't recall what I pay for Tersa knives. I likely have enough blades to last me a few years of use! :) Also, the Kanefusa blades took about 4 months to get to me but I wasn't in any hurry. I guess they don't stock the size needed for my FS41-Elite (410 mm x 10 mm x 2.3 mm) so they needed to mine the steel.... ;)

[Joe Calhoon]

joe can you provide more information on the sharpenable leitz tersas? where do you get them, and who sharpens them? much appreciated.

David, I sourced these from Leitz Germany not long after the Tersa patent expired. I think HW is the carbide but not sure. Unimerical sharpens them. Just back from the second sharpening. one maybe two sharpenings left in them. I am sure Leitz US can get these.

342427

[mreza Salav]

i buy from tersaknives.com in canada. anyone have experience with them?

I've bought several times from them and have had good service and the price is better than any other place.
The knives have tersa/swiss etching on them.

[Rick Fisher]

I buy from Tersa knives .. have 2 sets on order right now .. 100% legit ..

[David Zaret]

ok great, that's what i figured. their knives seem legit. joe, i'll check out the leitz - thanks.