Clifton #7 & jointing observations

Re: Clifton #7 & jointing observations

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>That'a alot of sharpening.. What kind of wood are you using?

I have a number of Clifton planes and, for me at least, I find their blades remain sharpest the longest. The Hock blade I have in my Record 5 and my LN plane blades do almost as well. I don't see that much of a difference between them all.

Not sure why you would be seeing problems with edge retention like that.

Re: Clifton #7 & jointing observations

Ted Shuck

>I'm using hard maple, and it's pretty hard!

I'm finding that the effort I need to exert increases after about 3-4 hours use, and where there are small grain reversals, I am getting more tearout. If I resharpen when I have lunch, and again in the evening, I get much better results.

I have a Hock blade in one of the #5's and a SW blade in the other. The blades are noticably duller in the centers than at the edges when I sharpen them.

Ted

Re: Clifton #7 & jointing observations

John Truxell-Svenson (jvs)

>I had two Cliftons before I got rid of the #4 (the #6 was a keeper), and never thought of the edge holding of the stock irons as being all that great, but they are nice and thick, stiff, and sharpen/hone very nicely without a lot of fuss. If you are looking for more edge life, the Hotley S53 irons are wonderful (I get at least two to three times the useful edge life over the stock blade), and are in the same rough price ballpark as replacement originals. I like the totes, but they are easy enough to carve if you want something different.




/jvs

My theory about blades

jim_reed@marietta

>The blade is the one thing about a plane that can be easily changed after manufacture. I think Stanley and others picked a carpentry blade to ship with their plane. Carpentry blades need to be cheap as well as light, thin, and soft so that they can be sharpened quickly on job site. Cabinetmakers have different needs like thick & hard, so these OEM blades rarely hold up well. That is why Hock & others sell replacements by the buckets.

Re: My theory about blades

Ted Shuck

>I have not found much difference in the edge holding ability of the Hock blade and the old SW blade. The SW blades are laminated, so the steel at the edge is reputed to be harder than other Stanley blades. The Hock blade is thicker and less likely to chatter, but they both seem to need about the same amount of sharpening after a similar amount of abuse.

Ted

Thanks for the write-up

Steve Kubien

>Hi Ted,

I really appreciate the review. I have wondered about the Clifton line-up for a while and have considered picking up a #6 as a compliment to my Knight smoother and jointer. As many have heard me say before, I love my Knight planes (really lookin' forward to getting the new one with the fence! Stealth gloat!!) but I am also curious about high-end Bailey style planes (like Clifton, LV and LN). Perhaps some day..

Anyway, thanks again

Steve Kubien

Ajax, Ontario

remove the _9 to email

Re: Clifton #7 & jointing observations

paul womack

>the Hotley S53 irons are wonderful (I get at least two to three times the useful edge life over the stock blade), and are in the same rough price ballpark as replacement originals.

Uhh?

Holtey prices

Clifton Prices

Clifton 2" blade 28.80, Holtey 70 GBP (*)

That's a "super sized" ballpark you have :-)

BugBear

(*) both prices V.A.T. inclusive to allow apples-for-apples comparison.

Re: Clifton #7 & jointing observations

John Truxell-Svenson (jvs)

>Over here the ballparks may be a little larger, but the difference is smaller; ~$58 v. ~$85 at Tools for Toodworking, making the Cliftons about a little less than 3/4 of the price of Hotleys instead of a little less than half. The delta would fit in Fenway, or even Wrigley, for that matter. :)




/jvs

Re: Clifton #7 & jointing observations

Ted Shuck

>I am generally satisfied with the iron in my Clifton #7. It does sharpen well, as you say, and after a few hours use, I am ready to take a break and sharpen it. It still planes ok before sharpening, but there is a noticable improvement after sharpening.

I was never bothered by the tote on this plane before, but only used the plane for a few minutes at a time to joint a couple of edges. This project had me jointing edges for hours, so the pointy horn on the tote became more and more annoying. It may be that all I need to do is round off the end a little, but the horn is only about half the length of that on an old Stanley, so it doesn't leave a lot to work with.

Thanks for the input,

Ted

Tools for Toodworking?

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Toel will appreciate that new name.

Re: hmm...

paul womack

>Ain't it amazing what happens when you travel the Atlantic (in either direction)?

BugBear

Re: Tools for Toodworking?

John Truxell-Svenson (jvs)

>Oops--apologies, Joel.




/jvs