Why are spokeshave blades growing?
Mike Stallard
>While discussing spokeshaves on this forum a little while ago, I realized that I had neglected the Lee Valley low angle spokeshave kit I bought about six months ago. I decided to go ahead and make the shave.
I have an old wooden low angle shave, and I was comparing it to the new kit. The blade on the old shave is much shorter. I am not talking about the blade width, but the length from sharpened edge back. In fact it is only as long as the bevel, about 3/8 inch.
The new kit blade and the blade on a low-angle shave I also bought from LV are about 3/4 inch long, with a 3/8 inch flat section behind the bevel. I became curious, and I looked at Ron Hock's shave blades as well. They also appear to be longer, with a flat section behind the bevel.
Are these longer blades typical of newer low angle spokeshaves? I notice Dave's Shaves use Hock blades. I haven't seen one of the Harris shaves, and I assume there are others. Do these use longer blades?
Why are the spokeshave blades longer? I see two possible advantages. The flat at the back of the blade gives you some to clamp onto to make sharpening the blade easier, and the longer blades are stronger, although strength hasn't been an issue for my old shave. That greater blade length makes the spokeshave less nimble, however. They just won't follow as tight a radiused inside curve.
Is it not technically feasible to make short spokeshave blades any more? Is there some shave blade manufacturer I don't know about making short blades?
