Steel yourself

Bill, I have a few old record shoulder planes that were given to me, some of the best presents I’ve gotten. The blades are really old so there’s no cryogenic’s involved. They stay sharp a long time but there’s no abuse either, I’m only taking small shavings, cleaning things up. I don’t think there’s a need to spend extra. It can take quite a bit more effort to sharpen the harder it is so take that into account. As far as toothing planes, unfortunately there’s only about a half dozen users on this website, we gotta keep it interesting….I’d check lie-nelson for feel as well, there quality is hard to beat! Enjoy…

Bill, I have a Lie-Nielsen medium shoulder plane in A-2 steel. It is beautifully constructed and the blade remains sharp after much use. The only pain is the price @ $195! My principal regret is that I waited so long to purchase this tool.

Bill,
I have a couple of the L-V shoulder planes and I love them. It’s no surprise that I am a huge fan of Lie-Nielsen tools but I was never keen on their shoulder planes. That, of course, is all a matter of personal preference. As Charlie stated, these tools get little abuse (unless you cut your tennons REALLY fat). That said, the newer PM-V11 steel is claimed to be the ultimate compromise for holding a fine edge for a long time while requiring little effort to sharpen. I can not personally attest to that since I don’t have any of that steel. However, my personal favorite is the common O1, high carbon steel. It sharpens much easier than A1 (which I have) to a finer edge (it’s all about the crystals) and lasts long enough particularly in a shoulder plane or any similar tool.
On the other hand, you could take the stance that such a tool does not require a super fine edge to do it’s job well and since it doesn’t get used as much it doesn’t require a lot of time sharpening. So, you could opt for the A1 which holds an edge longer (even longer under such conditions) and sharpen it even less frequently with adequate results.
So, to sum up, it’s basically a coin toss (or two). I would base it on my skill at the stones and my willingness to sharpen. Or, go for the PM-V11 and let us try it.

I have an old Clifton shoulder plane, and I have the original little Lie Nielsen shoulder plane back when it was a kit. When you need them they are great. Old time English woodworkers would tell you to build it right without them, so you don’t need them. I also think they had them and just snuck them out and used them when nobody was looking. They don’t make big cuts, so I think paying more for fancy steel is a waste of money.

I have one of those cryogenically treated blades. I figured great, I would almost never have to sharpen it. And it’s true, I haven’t had to in several years. Of course, it took forever to sharpen in the first place. NWeeks actually. That cured me of wanting super duper high end blades like that. I don’t mean don’t get great steel, I love my Hock blades, but sharpening isn’t so difficult you need to avoid it. So I would go with the cheaper of the 3 price options. Lee Valley tools and steel is great in all their levels.

Lapping the back of the blades is the hardest part of sharpening. I use the machine now, better than spending hours at the stone. I use the stones for the edge and finish with the leather strop. I find it makes all the difference and saves time between sharpening as well. When the chisel or plane edge gets a little dull I use the strop to bring the edge back for a little more use.

Bill, same one, work sharp. Took me a few years to work myself up to getting past wanting to do it all by hand. Mike Daum brought one to one of my Saturday sharpening workshops and I bought one from Bob that day…

I agree, you cab’t beat the Work-sharp for chisels. The last time I used my water stones was at that same Saturday workshop.

I lap all my tools with the worksharp but still sharpen all my edges with stones. I have extra plane blades as well as extra scrapers. If I’m in the middle of a project I’ll use them all before I go to the stones…

I’ve heard hand tool junkies and sharpening mavens complain the WorkSharp doesn’t sharpen as well as oil or water stones do. They might be right, but it doesn’t matter. Because up to a point, sharp enough is all we have to aim for. My Japanese plane blades have to be sharpened by hand because the blades are tapered. But if I could I would use my WorkSharp. I’ll use any method that’s faster.

And Bill, since you brought up shoulder planes, how about we bring ours in and compare how well they feel or work? I always say there is nothing more fun than whipping out a good tool.

I’d rather use my stones for all my edges, I feel I get a better edge that way. Just personal preference and I can get an edge very quickly with my stones, no reason to get my worksharp out.

For me, it depends on the tool and the status of the blade in deciding when to use the Worksharp rather than my water stones. If I’m putting a camber on a plane blade, I stick with the stones. Like Charlie, the strop is always the final step. Even after using 4000 grit micro mesh on the machine, I find a get a superior edge from the strop. I’ve tried the Worksharp strop but I really don’t like it. But that could just be me. If I doing extensive chisel work, I will simply strop the edge after a short time to keep it razor sharp and get back to work.
If you haven’t yet pulled the trigger, Bill, I can bring in my LV shoulder plane for you to try at the round robin next Wednesday.

Hint all you like but you ain’t getting a birthday gift from me.
But I will be happy to bring a shoulder plane or two.