Spokeshave Recommendation

[Joe A Faulkner]

I am guessing that owners of Clifton, Veritas and Lie Nielsen flat bottom spoke shaves are all relatively happy with their selection. So for those of you who own two or more of these three, if you had to go down to just one, which one would it be and why?

[ken hatch]

I am guessing that owners of Clifton, Veritas and Lie Nielsen flat bottom spoke shaves are all relatively happy with their selection. So for those of you who own two or more of these three, if you had to go down to just one, which one would it be and why?

Joe,

None of the above, I'd go with Dave's Shaves. Why? Bevel up and Dave understands the 'whys" of classic shaves.

ken

[Mark Rainey]

The Lie Nielsen Boggs curved would be my choice. Solid feel, smooth cuts. The curved can do what the flat bottom shave can do and also inside ( concave ) surfaces. I have a Veritas flat shave and it is pretty good. I have a Dave's Shave bevel up and really liked it years ago - it was effective on end grain. Got to sharpen it up and get using it again.

[Mike Henderson]

I agree that the LN Boggs shaves are excellent. But they're really for fine work. So I'd also get a Stanley 151 for rougher work.

If you want a less expensive approach for a rougher shave, get a spokeshave kit (https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/spokeshaves/49710-veritas-hardware-kits-for-wooden-spokeshaves) from LV and make your own in addition to the Boggs.

One just isn't enough.

Mike

[John Keeton]

Love my two Boggs shaves, but my workhorse shaves are Stanley 52s with PM-V11 blades. I have had 151s, and presently have a couple of 51s. But, I like the straight handles of the 52s and lighter weight than the 151. I think one of the reasons the Boggs work as well as they do is the straight handles and the 52 shares that feature.I have one set heavy and the other light. Also have a few 52s with original blades and they work well, too, but not like the ones with the LV blades.

[Jim Koepke]

I am guessing that owners of Clifton, Veritas and Lie Nielsen flat bottom spoke shaves are all relatively happy with their selection. So for those of you who own two or more of these three, if you had to go down to just one, which one would it be and why?

If there was to be only one of my shaves allowed to stay in the shop, it would be the Stanley #63 for its round bottom.

Though my #53 or #51s would also be wanted. Also my wooden bevel up shaves are great.

The real question is what reason do you have for a spokeshave?

My Veritas is a very nice shave. It is a concave shave and has a specific use. Same for my Clifton with a convex profile. The Clifton was not built as well as the Veritas spokeshaves.

My preference is also for shaves without built in adjusters. The added weight is more of a hassle than having to adjust with a hammer.

jtk

[ken hatch]

If you haven't used a bevel up shave (I believe a Stanly 62 shave is a metal example) WoodCraft carries a WoodRiver bevel up shave that is very cheap (~$60 US dollars) and works a treat. The posts unscrew which makes it very easy to sharpen. I surprise myself with how often I pick up the WoodRiver shave instead of some of the "better" shaves. A lot of bang for the buck.

ken

[David Bassett]

If you haven't used a bevel up shave (I believe a Stanly 62 shave is a metal example) ...

Woodcraft says theirs is based on the Stanley 84.


... WoodCraft carries a WoodRiver bevel up shave that is very cheap (~$60 US dollars) and works a treat. ...

Thanks for the recommendation.

It looks a lot like the Veritas low-angle shave in the photos. Have you used the Veritas? Can you compare them? The Veritas has a reversible sole than can be flat or convex, so might be more versatile. Maybe?

PS- both out of stock until March/April'ish.

[ken hatch]

Woodcraft says theirs is based on the Stanley 84.



Thanks for the recommendation.

It looks a lot like the Veritas low-angle shave in the photos. Have you used the Veritas? Can you compare them? The Veritas has a reversible sole than can be flat or convex, so might be more versatile. Maybe?

PS- both out of stock until March/April'ish.

David,

Shows how much I know about metal shaves :p.

No I have not used the Veritas low angle shave, I have a couple of their bevel down shaves which are seldom used I tend to like wood body shaves, the WoodRiver is an exception.

ken

[Prashun Patel]

They’re so cheap why would anyone limit to just one? I like my 151 because it’s adjustable. I like my mujingfangs because they’re aggressive. I like my 63 because it can get into tight spots. I almost always use them all if I use any of them.

[David Bassett]

a ... No I have not used the Veritas low angle shave, ....

Thanks Ken.

Anybody? (Veritas versus WoodRiver low-angle shave?)

I should probably just ignore these threads until I have a project I need a shave for, but... you guys make them sound so cool.

I have briefly used a L-N Boggs & Preston-replica on their sample wood (with its perfect grain) at one of their tool events and what must have been a Stanley 51 (from the descriptions here) and they were all easy to adjust with little taps. I didn't miss adjusters at all, even as a novice user.

[Tony Shea]

Joe,

None of the above, I'd go with Dave's Shaves. Why? Bevel up and Dave understands the 'whys" of classic shaves.

ken

I really have to disagree with this opinion. That is not to say that Dave's Shaves and bevel up shaves in general aren't good but they are used for completely different applications in my shop.

Joe, what do you plan on using the spokeshave for? Will it be primarily on end grain or face/edge grain? In my opinion bevel up shaves are best used on end grain and some soft wood face grain as long as you really pay attention to grain direction.

For some reason spokeshaves are the tool I have have the most of in my shop. I own HNT Gordon (round and flat), LN small bronze (round and flat), LN Boggs (2 flats and 1 round), Veritas round bottom, Stanley 151 flat bottom, Caleb James Bevel Up, Dave's No 1 Standard Shave, and a shop made bevel up shave with Hock Tools kit. I also have a Preston round bottom, Millers Falls Cigar, and a couple other antique shaves that aren't tuned up yet. Yes I absolutely love this simple tool and use them any chance I get on a project.

Out of all of these I personally think the LN small bronze spokeshaves are the easiest to use and produce the least amount of chatter. I assume it'd due to the narrower cut it takes and everything is bedded super tight. The LN Boggs are also amazing and produce very little to no chatter as long as you don't take a heavy full width shaving. But I have grown to prefer my HNT Gordon's if I need a full size spokeshave. Not only do they cut extremely well they are gorgeous to look at and feel amazing in the hand.

I feel like I have a lot of experience with all the different shaves out there and I really think I disagree with Ken's recommendation to go out and buy a bevel up version as your first. If you plan on working mostly softwoods, greenwood, or end grain with the spokeshave then I wouldn't hesitate recommending a bevel up shave. If you want the tool to be a bit more versatile I would def. recommend a standard bevel up shave. Out of the choices you asked about I would choose the Lie Nielsen Boggs. But then there's the decision of what sole shape you should get. This is certainly going to depend on what you plan on doing with the tool but the flat bottom is def easier to get the hang of. You will eventually learn how to use the curved sole but takes more time and frustration to get the hang of.

I'm not super excited about the question "if I had to buy just 1 what should I get?" as I think you really should own both the round and flat bottom version of whatever shave you land on. For $200 you could get both LN small bronze spokeshaves and would be a great starting point down the rabbit hole of spokeshaves. If you want full size I recommend LN Boggs as I noted above, unless of course you want the beautiful HNT Gordon's.

Sorry about the rambling response, I kind of have a thing for spokeshaves.

[Derek Cohen]

I will support Tony's comments.

The high cutting angle HNT Gordon shaves are the go-to when dealing with interlocked grain. For most else, I use the Boggs shaves. They are best for fine finishes, or delicate work. It needs be said that I prefer shaves without adjusters as these are less bulky and a little more nimble.

Everyone should have a Stanley #53. These have adjustable mouths and can switch from a rank, thick slice to a g=fine, finishing cut.

I also like BU shaves for end grain work (such as the sides of chair seats). The Veritas LA shave is excellent. Recently, I have begun to use the Stanley #84 and #84 versions. These have a similarity to the mouths of a travisher, and wrist action (pull back or push forward) will change the cut from thick to thin, and back.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[lowell holmes]

I use Rob Lee's shave.

[Joe A Faulkner]

I have a Stanley 51 and have used it on shaping an axe handle and am currently trying my hand shaped round tapered legs - 9” in length. I do not own a lathe and have no plans in going that direction any time soon. My original question was which flat bottom shave do people prefer limiting the options to the LV, Clifton and LN. I appreciate all of the discussion this has generated. The tapered legs I am attempting to make are walnut. I haven’t spent a lot of time fiddling with the 51. I thought I’d treat myself to one new flat bottom shave. I tend to work primarily in hard woods. I am interested in trying my hand at chair making. I have a small supply of recently slabbed ash. Chair making won’t happen any time soon.

[Tony Shea]

Joe, I've basically been in the same boat as you. Wanting to get into making chairs with round tapered legs but don't own a lathe and probably won't for some time. I had some split ash from a tree that was cut down behind our apartment that had dried beautifully and used this for some legs on a perch stool. I decided to make some round legs with nothing more than drawknives and spokeshaves. This ended up taking some time but was so much fun. Basically just make the tapered shape you're after, make an octagon, hexagon, etc until it is basically round. I left the legs slightly faceted but the only way you can tell is by running your hands on the piece. Visually they look perfectly round.


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[Stephen Rosenthal]

I was just going to add that a shave horse will elevate your spokeshaving to another level when I noticed Tony’s photo of using the Boggs while seated on one. They’re relatively easy and inexpensive to make and numerous videos and free plans are available on YouTube and the Internet respectively.

[steven c newman]

Best ones I have ever had....were made by Seymour Smith & Sons.....might keep an eye out for one....IF they happen to turn up, again ( and..I don't find them first.....)

[Joe A Faulkner]

Tony it does indeed sound similar. I shaped these from a walnut log the electric company dropped on my property over two years ago. Hand split the log, then cross cut of a piece with a handsaw, then used the bandsaw and table saw to make the blanks. A saw horse is on my round-to-it to-do list. I have plans, but am resisting starting that until I finish two projects that are cluttering up the shop with parts. So for now my knife and shave work is done at the regular bench. Not having great luck with fine shavings with these legs; they need a bit more work, but they are coming along. My apologies that the blank photo is upside down. Your stool looks great. How did you shape the seat?

[Tony Shea]

I shaped the seat with gouges, spokeshaves, drawknives, travishers, and scrapers. The seat is hard maple and really took some work to carve. I don't recommend making a windsor style seat out of maple. It was my first attempt at that style of seat and really made it hard on myself by picking hard maple.

[John Keeton]

I shaped the seat with gouges, spokeshaves, drawknives, travishers, and scrapers. The seat is hard maple and really took some work to carve. I don't recommend making a windsor style seat out of maple. It was my first attempt at that style of seat and really made it hard on myself by picking hard maple.


Yes, you did!!! I can feel the pain from here. Poplar or white pine are the woods of choice. Butternut (hard to find) and perhaps soft maple might be some alternatives.

[Joe A Faulkner]

My first attempt at spoon carving was on a blank of kiln dried hard maple. What a bad idea that was.

[Aaron Liebling]

I got the LN boggs flat as my first spokeshave few months ago and absolutely love it. Besides the main task of shaping some curved furniture legs for a credenza, I also used it to make the tentacles for a wooden squid for a kid's birthday gift. For the latter, I made shapes similar to the chair spokes then cut them in to sections, drilled them out and threaded them with yarn. It was a huge hit!

I just ordered the Veritas curved spokeshave and look forward to lots more curved projects!

Note: the squid tentacles were from leftover hard maple from my workbench and the boggs cut it like butter!

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[Jim Koepke]

Aaron,

Your images do not show up.

jtk

[Aaron Liebling]

To pile in, I love the boggs, but the throat is relatively small for hogging off large amounts of material. What's a good spokeshave for that, assuming I'll have the boggs for finer work?

[Rob Luter]

To pile in, I love the boggs, but the throat is relatively small for hogging off large amounts of material. What's a good spokeshave for that, assuming I'll have the boggs for finer work?

I'm told that a Stanley #53 and #54 are both good for that, with adjustable mouths and all, but I've never had great luck with them. I'm on my second set (shown below with Kunz cutters) and they are about to start looking for another home. My LN Boggs shaves work well. They aren't great for heavy stock removal, but these are shaves not drawknives. I'd rather thake two light passes than one heavy one anyway. For smaller work I have the LN and LV small shaves.


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[Kevin Adams]

Sent you a message, Rob.

[Kevin Adams]

Rob, you need to clear out some messages as I can’t get my reply to go thru. Thanks.

Kevin

[Rob Luter]

Just cleaned out my inbox.

[Jim Koepke]

To pile in, I love the boggs, but the throat is relatively small for hogging off large amounts of material.

It never occurred to me to use a spokeshave for "hogging off large amounts of material."

Is there such a thing as a scrub shave?

jtk

[Patrick Whitehorn]

Wouldn't that be a draw knife?



Is there such a thing as a scrub shave?

[Jim Koepke]

Wouldn't that be a draw knife?

Yep

jtk