Cost of Jointer & Planer Knives vs Printer Cartridges

[Mike Shields]

In my hobbyist tools, I have not been diligent about blade sharpening. To be honest, I've never sharpened anything, just cleanings. I've been playing by the rule that if cuts OK, then leave it.

My jointer and planer have just started to show slight nicks in the cut wood. Now, it's obvious I need to sharpen them. My rule with a lawnmower is to have a spare blade sharpened and ready to go. Why not think the same with jointers and planers?

Have you seen the price of an extra set of jointer and planer knives? Reminds me of printer cartridges where it could be cheaper to buy a new printer than to buy replacement cartridges.

Toolking: 6" jointer knives = $65.
13" planer knives = $60 (for the disposable ones)

How many of you hobbyists just shutdown while your only blades are being sharpened? And who insists on paying these high costs just to have an extra set of knives around?

[john bateman]

Um, I don't know what kind of jointer you have, but at Amazon.com, Freud 6" jointer knife sets of 3 can be gotten for around $20.
http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link_8?ie=UTF8&node=575770&pf_rd_p=237146401&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=228323&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=00AC8S2E6H2R4C80XE4Q

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, prior to owning a Hammer A3-31 planer/thicknesser I had an 8 inch jointer and a 14 inch planer. I had a spare set of knives for both machines.

If I remember correctly the spare sets were about $40/$75 respectively.

This compares to a present price of $3,400/$5,000 respectively for the jointer/planer.

I purchased spare knives so that I could replace the knives without any downtime, and save myself money in the process.

I would drop off the dull knives to the sharpening shop while in the area, and would then pick them up at my convenience when I was back in the area. Often there would be a month between drop off and pick up, this saved me time and fuel.

I now own a Hammer with disposable knives, and will be picking up a spare set on my next trip past the dealer, for all of the above reasons.

Regards, Rod.

[Greg Cole]

You will always find yourself needing sharp (be it new or sharpened) in the middle of using whatever tool it is.
I buy a set of spare blades when I buy the machine to aviod the above scenario of needing them & not having them. Even with a cheap lunch box planer a set of spare blades is a very small expense to keep the tool in use when you need it.
In a pinch you can free hand hone the blades some to help with the trails left from the nicks, but it's not the same as a nice sharp set of blades. You can also buy jigs to hold the blades for you for honing if you don't like the idea of free hand honing. For a full sharpening, it's worth having a pro do it if you don't sharpen plane irons, chisels etc and don't have the stones etc.
FWIW.
Greg

[mike holden]

I factor a spare set of blades into the purchase price and obtain them the same time as the tool. Spares and expendables are fact of power tool use.
Mike

[Mike Shields]

Thanks for the replies.

So this brings up an additional question regarding the planer in question:

DeWalt 735. This only uses those disposable knives, which because of that, can cause the cost of replacement blades to exceed to cost of the machine.

This machine seems to be suited more for occasional usage, than any amount a woodworker would put it through.

Anyone's thoughts?

[Greg Cole]

The 735 is a venerable machine in the lunchbox class and it's on the upper end of that scale. It does great job and there are 1,000's of them that have been used a ton. Many whom start with that machine don't sell it if & when they upgrade to a stationary 15 or 20 inch machine, that says something for the 735 IMO.
I've had a Rigid 1300 planer for a couple years that I got for free for making someone a snake enclosure, had I not gotten that deal I was going to buy a DW 735. There is-were some issues with DW blades and a short life, but IIRC that's been taken care of.

Cheers.
Greg

[Rod Sheridan]

Thanks for the replies.

So this brings up an additional question regarding the planer in question:

DeWalt 735. This only uses those disposable knives, which because of that, can cause the cost of replacement blades to exceed to cost of the machine.

This machine seems to be suited more for occasional usage, than any amount a woodworker would put it through.

Anyone's thoughts?

Hi Mike, cutters are a consumable item, just like buying sandpaper for your sander.

In the same manner that most people have more money invested in router bits/shaper cutters/saw blades than their router/shaper/tablesaw cost is normal.

The only reason your cost looks high is the relatively low cost of your planer.

My Hammer A3-31 was $3,400 not including taxes, yet the cost of planer blades wouldn't be much different than for your planer.

I probably won't ever consume enough blades to cost as much as my planer did, you may be able to.

As I said before, they're consumables, you will need to replace or sharpen them at intervals.

Regards, Rod.

[Mike Shields]

There is-were some issues with DW blades and a short life, but IIRC that's been taken care of.

Cheers.
Greg

Greg, could you be more specific as to what was done to resolve this issue?

I've not found anything that seems to be any different than the original disposable blades.

[Gary Herrmann]

I guess it depends on how you define occasional use. I'll never run a planer for 8 hours per day every day. I did get hundreds of board feet planed with my 735 before I had to reverse the blades and use the other cutting edge. As a hobbyist, I'll always be an occasional user.

I sold my 735 when I came across a great deal on a General 14" planer. Otherwise, I'd still have it.

Anything like blades or bits could potentially cost more than the original tool they were purchased for - if the tool is used for a number of years.

As for having extra blades - absolutely. Yes, it will cost you some additional money. But it reduces down time and aggravation if you hit a hidden nail or even a knot in something like bloodwood. DAMHIKT.

[Dave Sweeney]

Thanks for the replies.

So this brings up an additional question regarding the planer in question:

DeWalt 735. This only uses those disposable knives, which because of that, can cause the cost of replacement blades to exceed to cost of the machine.

This machine seems to be suited more for occasional usage, than any amount a woodworker would put it through.

Anyone's thoughts?

I've always bought my DeWalt DW7352 replacement knives on eBay. You have to be patient and wait for the good deals to come around but IIRC the most I have ever paid for a set was $35.

[Peter Quinn]

Mike, I suggest you never buy a shaper if you are shocked at the cost of HSS planer and jointer knives!:D Shaper cutters will almost always cost you more than the machine once you have a decent basic set. Hey, wait a minute, my router bits cost WAY more than any single router I own too! Come to think of it my drill bit collection at this point cost more than my drill press! Its a conspiracy!:eek:

That $65 price on 6" knives is very high. A little advice, don't EVER buy the OEM replacement straight knives. Delta wanted $135 for 15" knives for my planer, I got them in M-2 HSS from my local grinding shop for $65, made from Wisconson Knife Works tool stock (some of the best going). Most OEM knives are like any parts, way over priced. Except many vendors make and sell suitable knives for planers and jointers. I got freud knives for my 6" general from Amazon for $18? OEM was triple that. Shop around.

To have knifes sharpened for my 15" costs me @$30-$35 for a set of 3, new knives for my DeWalt 735 cost a bit more, the knives in the 15" planer will out last the disposable Dewalts 3-4X easily in terms of BF processed. I think carbide knives would make sense for that machine but as far as I know they don't make them. I keep my dewalt 735 for fine work as it goes thinner than the 15", and for the occasional special set up. Nice tool for hobby or job site use, but not an industrial machine.

To answer your original question, I'm in the semi-pro league and keep three sets on hand. One in the machine, one sharp and one either going out or just came back for both planer and jointer. For hobby only shop I think two is appropriate. One set is just cheepo man! The 6" knives I buy cost about the same to buy as to have sharpened, but the grind from my tooling company is fantastic, so i'd rather run freshly sharpened knives than new knives.

[Wilbur Pan]

I picked up the planer knife jig for the Tormek a while back on sale. I figured that at $25-30 to sharpen a set of knives (my local cost), after 4 sharpenings I've broken even, and I wouldn't have to deal with downtime. Plus, I like the idea that I know how well the blades are sharpened.

[Mike Shields]

...A little advice, don't EVER buy the OEM replacement straight knives. Delta wanted $135 for 15" knives for my planer, I got them in M-2 HSS from my local grinding shop for $65, made from Wisconson Knife Works tool stock (some of the best going).

Excellent advice for a beginning woodworker. I've already been to WKW website, and will consider buying their products once I'm able to identify the differences between the 5 options they have.

Thanks!

[Steve Clardy]

I keep 4 sets of knives for my 20" planer.

Extra jointer knives.

3 of the same raised panel cutters for the shaper.

I have double and triple router bits

I keep spares for most everything

[Brad Townsend]

I found that when I put printer cartridges in my planer, they left a very rough surface and made an awful mess.:D

Seriously, on the DW735 issue; Some complain loudly about the knife issue and others claim very long life. For me, it seems to depend on the type of wood I'm planing. Seems I can do cherry and oak for days on end, but hard maple dulls them in real short order. Anyway, I don't throw them out when dull. I resharpen them twice before pitching them.

[Steve Perez]

Sometimes economies of scale can play a role. A firm whose end product is a 700 pound chunk of average grade iron should have a lower ratio of material cost per pound of product than a firm whose end product is a small nugget of highly refined steel. Thats crudely oversimplifying as there are many other factors.

iron=$, refined HSS=$$, add highly refined carbide=$$$ ... incredibly refined printer ink=$$$$$$$ at about $4/milliliter!

Consumables aren't cheap. Heck! It was cheap to make me but it sure wasn't cheap to raise me. Still, I must have been a lot cheaper than say Paris Hilton. Again its all about the cost for refinement. :D

[Jim Becker]

My J/P uses Tersa knives which are two-sided (reversible) and disposable. I buy in multiples when I can take advantage of a good sale. The last time I bought, it was buy two get one...

Now printer cartridges...those make me very unhappy with there "longevity" for the money. And you don't want to have too many around, either as many seem to have "timers" in them that will shut them down, even if you have not actually used them all up.

[glenn bradley]

I have 3 extra sets of planer knives. A few extra cirbide squares for the jointer.

[Peter Quinn]

Sometimes economies of scale can play a role. A firm whose end product is a 700 pound chunk of average grade iron should have a lower ratio of material cost per pound of product than a firm whose end product is a small nugget of highly refined steel. Thats crudely oversimplifying as there are many other factors.

iron=$, refined HSS=$$, add highly refined carbide=$$$ ... incredibly refined printer ink=$$$$$$$ at about $4/milliliter!

Consumables aren't cheap. Heck! It was cheap to make me but it sure wasn't cheap to raise me. Still, I must have been a lot cheaper than say Paris Hilton. Again its all about the cost for refinement. :D

Are you saying Paris hilton is in some way refined? Pampered maybe, but refined? Next time I order knives I am going to spec "refined grade" not "pampered grade" and see if that saves me a little money. I fear I have been paying too much.:D

[Chuck Saunders]

I bought a set (4 blades) for my 16" jointer from Global - $54 These are T1 HSS. Grizz wanted ~$170 for the set. They are a consumable not a replacement part.

[Denny Rice]

I'm with Mike and Greg on this one. When I purchased my planner and jointer I purchased an extra set of knives for each machine, so at no time would either machine be down while knives are being sharpened or replaced. When I purchased the newest planner and jointer in my shop I just factored in the extra set in the price. I think it amazing how inexpensive these knives have become in the last 10 yrs or so. I can almost replace the knives for what the local guy here wants to sharpen them anymore.:)

[Harley Reasons]

I have a Ridgid 6" jointer and ordered two sets of the T1 knives from Global. The cost $35.00 delivered via Priority Mail. Took about 4 days to get them. They are cutting fools. I think they cut better than the OEM ones that came with it. I did hit them a lick or two on my waterstones before putting them in though. Didn't really need it but I had them out anyway.

[peter de tappan]

Thanks for the replies.

So this brings up an additional question regarding the planer in question:

DeWalt 735. This only uses those disposable knives, which because of that, can cause the cost of replacement blades to exceed to cost of the machine.

This machine seems to be suited more for occasional usage, than any amount a woodworker would put it through.

Anyone's thoughts?

I just got an email from Infinity Tools. They will be selling CARBIDE replacement knives for the Dewalt 735 for an intro price of $199.

[Jim O'Dell]

I just got an email from Infinity Tools. They will be selling CARBIDE replacement knives for the Dewalt 735 for an intro price of $199.

That was my thought when I started reading this thread. I priced carbide planer blade replacements a year or so ago....Whoa!! Back the cart up! How would you feel hitting something that nicked the blade with those installed!! Something akin to backing into the house with your brand new car!!:p Jim.