Tersa source

[Larry Edgerton]

I am looking for a new source for Tersa knives at the best price of course. Where are you buying yours?

I tried the clones made in Germany and they are trash, at least the ones I bought were. They dulled instantly on Kiln dried cherry that was clean. It almost seemed that they came pre-nicked.:) So Swiss made knives are well worth the extra as far as I can tell. The ones on Flea-Bay from PME Distributing are clones.

[Brian Gumpper]

Larry,

I have a set of German HSS Tersa knives for two purposes. I am going to use them and I was thinking of selling them. Your lack of endorsement makes me wonder how good they are but I am not sure they are the same ones you purchased. Could you please post a link or a picture of the packaging.

If you can get the M42 versions, I believe they are the longest wearing.

Thanks.

[Philip Glover]

Larry,
I've found that it is best to stick with Tersa M42. I buy from Simantech here http://www.simantechinc.com/index.php?action=tersa

Cheers,
Phil

[Larry Edgerton]

Larry,

I have a set of German HSS Tersa knives for two purposes. I am going to use them and I was thinking of selling them. Your lack of endorsement makes me wonder how good they are but I am not sure they are the same ones you purchased. Could you please post a link or a picture of the packaging.

If you can get the M42 versions, I believe they are the longest wearing.

Thanks.

The packaging of the clones looks just like the Swiss made, same colors, everything, but say made in Germany instead. I had hoped that they would work as I feel that I am getting burned every time I buy knives, but as of yet its not to be. The German ones I bought were dull so fast that the 40% cost increase to the Swiss made would have been worth it many times over. I tried then on several different kinds of wood, wood that had been planed already with the swiss blades, and they just magically become dull. Junk. The clone carbides are cheap comparitively, but I am not going to try them.

I made a deal when I bought the planer for twenty sets of knives to be thrown in, so now that I am out I am searching for best cost/value. I did run across a site that says they sharpen tersa M42/carbide, I may send them a set and see what happens.

[Phil Thien]

I made a deal when I bought the planer for twenty sets of knives to be thrown in, so now that I am out I am searching for best cost/value.

How long did it take you to go through 20 sets of knives? :eek:

[Brian Gumpper]

Each set has two sides too.

Thanks for the info Larry, those sound like the ones I bought to try out. I don't have time to do much WW so I'll just buy the originals too next time.

[Chris Padilla]

I just picked up a few sets from Minimax.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Definitely the M42 Tersa knives, the chrome and HSS Tersa's didn't seem to last very long for me. I have bought from Woodtech Tooling available here https://woodtechtooling.com/

[Chris Padilla]

Here is the deal:

The HSS tends to be sharper than the M42 but won't last nearly as long.

If you have some highly figured stuff, you may wish to break out brand spanking new HSS or use the HSS on the final pass. Since Tersa knives swap out fast, switching during planing isn't too big a deal IMO.

Thanks for the pointer, Robert. I just emailed them for a quote.

[Chris Padilla]

Larry,
I've found that it is best to stick with Tersa M42. I buy from Simantech here http://www.simantechinc.com/index.php?action=tersa

Cheers,
Phil

Cool, prices right there online!

[Larry Edgerton]

Here is the deal:

The HSS tends to be sharper than the M42 but won't last nearly as long.

If you have some highly figured stuff, you may wish to break out brand spanking new HSS or use the HSS on the final pass. Since Tersa knives swap out fast, switching during planing isn't too big a deal IMO.

Thanks for the pointer, Robert. I just emailed them for a quote.

I only change two at a time for the most part. I took numbered punches and numbered the head 1-4 and keep a tally under the hood of when I have shifted right/left, changed or turned over the knives. That way I get more out of them. Two good knives is all that is needed @ 16' min for a finish that needs almost no sanding/scraping.

The list will look like:

Turned 1-3
shifted 2-4 right
shifted 1-3 left
Shifted 2-4 left
Turned 2-4

Anyway, you get the idea. That way I do not have to rely on my memory, which is not so good short term these days.:) And I may be on a jobsite for a month and when I come back to the shop there is no way I can remember. I just use green painters tape and a fine point on a string, peel it off when it is full and start over.

It took me 5 years to burn up the 20 sets but I did a fairly large job with Jatoba that ate up probably six sets alone.

Thanks for the input gentlemen, appreciated......

[Chris Padilla]

My Tersa head has only 3 knives. :D I just change them all at the same time or flip 'em all at the same time.

[Rye Crane]

Chris,

Since you are also in the Bay Area, I wanted to pass this along to you.
I buy my Tersa knives at Bay Area Carbide, 1843 East St., Concord, Ca. 94520
Fax: 925-687-0689 Tele: 925-687-7543 Doug McAdoo Pres.

Doug stocks several sizes or Tersa, and sells many lines of Table Saw Blades, shaper tooling, also does a great job of sharpening.

Rye Crane

[Chris Padilla]

Rye,

Thanks very much for that information. I've been on the lookout for a decent local blade sharpener. I'm in SJ so Concord is still a decent trek but leads are getting closer to me all the time! :) I'll call BAC one of these days and get their prices.