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Thread: Are your old plane irons disposable?

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    I would also recommend the Lee Valley PM-V11 irons over the Hock or the Lie Nielsen.

    Mike
    The Lee Valley blades need less back prep. The Hock O1 blades are at a good price.

    The original blades are a bit easier to sharpen. It seems the Hock blade have a more prolonged life, but then more work is needed to restore it to full sharpness. The Stanley blades are more likely to develop small chips.

    My next excursion into the world of premium blades is likely going to be made of PMv-11.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    The Lee Valley blades need less back prep. The Hock O1 blades are at a good price.

    The original blades are a bit easier to sharpen. It seems the Hock blade have a more prolonged life, but then more work is needed to restore it to full sharpness. The Stanley blades are more likely to develop small chips.

    My next excursion into the world of premium blades is likely going to be made of PMv-11.

    jtk
    Jim; with respect, your talking bollocks.

    regards Stewie;
    Last edited by Stewie Simpson; 04-20-2019 at 6:19 AM.

  3. #33
    I have to agree with Stewie here. Something is very wrong if an old Stanley blade is chipping. It is not like A2 or some other cheap alloy.

  4. #34
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    I have, and use a lot, one of each, and several of some of the old planes. With the woods I work, mostly Heart Pine, and Cypress, with a small percentage of White Oak, and Walnut, the stock irons are just fine, and I have never felt the need for something "better". I don't do a lot of grinding, but I've only ever completely worn down one block plane iron from sharpening on stones.

    Maybe it's because I have so many planes that no one gets used that much, but without a lot of grinding, it would still take an awfully lot of use to wear one out from sharpening. When I'm in the middle of a job, like planing all the new siding to go on a house, typically I'll sharpen first thing in the morning, and at lunch break.

    In clean wood, I've never had trouble with the Stanley, or Record irons chipping.

  5. #35
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    Two irons...

    Used Stanley blade.JPG
    Now...which should be kept around....both are 2" wide Stanley irons....shorty is a Stanley Rule & Level logo, longer one (newer?) is from a Stanley Victor No. 1104...maybe 60 years of wear and tear on the shorter one...before the Victor plane was sold new.

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stewie Simpson View Post
    Jim; with respect, your talking bollocks.

    regards Stewie;
    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Mickley View Post
    I have to agree with Stewie here. Something is very wrong if an old Stanley blade is chipping. It is not like A2 or some other cheap alloy.
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    [edited]
    In clean wood, I've never had trouble with the Stanley, or Record irons chipping.
    So you guys don't plane a lot of wood with knots?

    In my experience planing mostly fir, with copious amounts of knots, the Stanley blades are more likely to develop rough spots, flattened spots, areas that reflect light along the edges or what my post referred to as 'chips' than are the Hock blades in planes working the same wood.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #37
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    Almost none of the wood I use has knots in it. Occasionally there will be some in the Heart Pine, but it's never a problem. Fir doesn't grow around here, so I no need to be using it, or at least, not with a planed surface.

    I bought a Hock O1 iron to replace the one I wore out in that block plane. I don't see that it's a lot better than the stock irons, and I really don't like the square corners on a block plane, but do still use it.

  8. #38
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    I really don't like the square corners on a block plane, but do still use it.
    The square corners are my main reason for not buying Hock block plane blades.

    For my #10-1/2 (#4 sized rabbet plane) the lower corners had to be ground down to help get the blade into the plane.

    In my use the Hock blades appear to have a slightly different wear pattern (profile?) than the original Stanley blades. Often it isn't noticed until trying to set the plane for a very light shaving.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. #39
    Jim,
    For living on opposite sides of the country, it’s amazing that we often can see the same views.

    I’ve been doing mid-Atlantic period pieces and using lots of SYP. I’ve chipped plenty of vintage Stanley (and other) HCS blades and some of my modern “cheap alloys” from up north...as in Canada and Maine.

    Fortunately, my sharpening regimen works perfectly with HCS so I can deal with all those unchippable Stanley blades!

    I’m pretty sure pine knots will chip marshmallows.

  10. #40
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    I’m pretty sure pine knots will chip marshmallows.
    A good knot from a thick piece of wood makes a good small mallet. A hillbilly gen'no?

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #41
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    We're fortunate to live in a time with many choices. I'm glad that there are still plenty of the old ones, but I should have all I ever need anyway.

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