Needing a new plane iron for a 5 1/2

[Beau]

Hi all.

I am in the market for a new plane iron as my old one is worn away. I have not done much woodwork for many years and am completely out of touch as to what is available. I had a quick look on the Axminster site and saw the Rider blade at a fair price and then found a review on here saying "best avoid". My old iron I think is a Hock. I seem to remember being told they did two hardnesses and I went for the easier to sharpen one but I have no idea what the steel is and can't see any ID on the iron. I like the thickness (2.8mm) and it holds an edge for a good time but is not the quickest to sharpen.

So what is available and how do they vary from a stock Record blade?

Thanks
Beau

 

[Inspector]

Hock was purchased by Lee Valley and they have the blades in stock. You likely have the O1 material. How others compare, I can't say.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...9-hock-hcs-o1-bench-plane-blades?item=19P2025

You could consider their Veritas blades.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...ley-record-bench-plane-blades-made-by-veritas

I believe there are vendors in the UK that sell the LV products. If wrong about the plane blades I'll sit corrected.

Pete

 

[Blackswanwood]

ClassicHand Tools sell Hock replacement irons.

These are also good …

https://www.toolnut.co.uk/collectio...cement-thicker-plane-blade-no-4-1-2-5-1-2-6-7

There is a whole load of science around the different steels but as a rule of thumb Carbon steel gives a good edge and sharpens easily when compared to the more modern alloys such as A2 and PMV which take longer to sharpen but are slower to dull.

Opinions vary on which can produce the sharpest edge … in the past someone normally jumps in with pictures taken under a microscope at this point and and WW3 breaks out.

 

[pgrbff]

I have LV pmv11 in mine with their chip breaker. I like it but I think most would say it takes too long to sharpen.

 

[johnwalls26]

I bought several of the Rider irons at bargain price and am more than happy with them.

 

[Hornbeam]

You need to check that a thick iron will work with the adjuster yoke on your plane.
I fitted a laminated plane blade like this one from workshop heaven and it is very good. Unfortunately out of stock atm
https://workshopheaven.com/tsunesaburo-aogami-60mm-2-laminated-japanese-plane-iron/

 

[andrew_2]

I bought the replacement cast brass longer aduster yoke from Flinn Garlick - was about a tenner each I think. You need to cut and file a bit to fit, but I didn't need to open the mouth on either the Stanley or the Record... although I probably ought to do the Stanley.

Neither of the factory yokes were long enough - the Record just about worked, but the Stanley was useless with the thicker blade.

 

[Beau]

Thank you everyone.

I think I will just give the Rider a go. It's not going to break the bank and will undoubtedly do all I need

 

[mark w]

I recently purchased a Hock blade and a Ray Isles blade for my Record 4 1/2 smoother to compare them. For me the Ray Isles blade produced a sharper cutting edge which lasted about the same length of time as the Hock blade, the Isles blade was also a bit cheaper than the Hock, both fitted the plane with no modifications.

 

[Dave65]

I recently purchased a Hock blade and a Ray Isles blade for my Record 4 1/2 smoother to compare them. For me the Ray Isles blade produced a sharper cutting edge which lasted about the same length of time as the Hock blade, the Isles blade was also a bit cheaper than the Hock, both fitted the plane with no

Did you use the standard cap iron with the blades ?

 

[mark w]

Did you use the standard cap iron with the blades ?

Yes I did, there was nothing wrong with it really, I just did the usual flattening and honing of it as per David Charlesworth's recommendation.