Carbide tipped jointer knives?

[Rod Holmgren]

Hi all. Has anyone used carbide tipped jointer knives? No matter how careful I am, HHS jointer knives get knicked up. I am considering carbide knives in the hope of alleviating this issue.

[Andrew Hughes]

Before you go to carbide have you tryout T1 hss.
Unless your mostly starting with rough sawn lumber with bark, bugs and dirty faces.

[Van Huskey]

If you are using the kind of wood that constantly dulls/knicks knives it may be time to consider a carbide insert head. A set of carbide knives is a big chunk of an insert heads cost at least if you have one of the more common jointers.

[michael langman]

Carbide can chip easier then a good HSS. It might be worth having a set of knives for roughing only.
I put T1 knives in my little 4" jointer and they are holding up really well.

[Steve Demuth]

I had a set for a 6" jointer. You're right that they don't chip easily. But if you do ding one, you'll likely ruin it, because it won't be a little chip, it'll be cracked knife or a honkin' great hole that can't be ground out.

They are also impossible to get really, really sharp. I went back to HSS because I like my jointer knives super-sharp so I can get a planed finish off the jointer. I use a shelix head on my planer, and I love it. Shelix heads cut with a shearing motion, rather than a hard slam of a straight blade into the wood, which overcomes carbides less acute sharpness.

[Mel Fulks]

Before you go to carbide have you tryout T1 hss.
Unless your mostly starting with rough sawn lumber with bark, bugs and dirty faces.

Yes, most of the steel knives in new machines are the lowest grade

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I happily use carbide tipped blades in my thickness planer; I do not own a jointer. I love them.

[Brian Gumpper]

You will never get carbide as sharp as steel can be. The question though is how many feet on a steel knife before the edge folds over enough to be as sharp as carbide which will hold that edge longer.

[Kevin Jenness]

I have been happily running carbide straight knives in my 16" jointer for 4 or 5 years. I paid about $225 for a set of four, and bought another set for backup. They don't take quite as keen an edge as HSS but maintain adequate sharpness far longer- I used to go 6 months between changes, the last time it was two years. Except for edge jointing the final surfacing is done on the planer anyway, and I keep the near end of the knives fresh for jointing while doing most rough facing on the far end. A helical head would be a bit more free of tearout but at a far greater upfront cost and I would be without a jointer while the head for my off-brand machine was being made.

[Wayne Lomman]

Get them. You won't regret it. All the talk about how much sharper hss blades are is idealism. They don't last. Cheers

[Jim Andrew]

I have to be careful with my Freud router bits, as the carbide is scary sharp. As for the jointer, I bought a helical head from Grizzly to put on my G0609 jointer. Have to clean the cutterhead occasionally, but have yet to replace a single blade, and I plane my own rough sawn lumber.

[J.R. Rutter]

I use carbide Tersa knives in my jointer. Well worth it, even over the high wear steel.

[Rod Holmgren]

Thanks to all for the input. I have decided to give the carbide a go. Will see what happens. I have good results with carbide router bits, so.....