krenov plane

[gardnesd]

Can I use a stanley type blade to make a krenov style plane? Need something wider than 2".

[flairwoodworks]

Well you could but... Krenov blades tend to be quite thick to prevent chattering. Stanley blades aren't thick. You could and it would work but I think the performance would suffer in comparison. Does nobody make anything wider than 2"? Perhaps someone like Ron Hock would be willing to custom-make you one. Or you could purchase the tool steel and make it yourself.

[Darnell Hagen]

There are these. Otherwise, +1 on what Chris said.

[alindsey]

Can I use a stanley type blade to make a krenov style plane? Need something wider than 2".

Besides the thickness issue of the Stanley blades there's the problem of the length. Irons for a Krenov style plane are much shorter than a bench plane iron, otherwise you'd have difficulty striking the wedge to adjust the plane. Also the chipbreaker on a Stanly iron is humped at the end which makes it near-impossible to seat behind the cross-pin of the plane. I teach a class on making these planes and had a guy, who wouldn't believe me, leave the class to go for stitches when he put a Stanley chipbreaker on the iron in a Krenov style plane. The iron assembly slipped right out as he was holding it upside down and the freshly sharpened iron came down right on the back of his hand.

Give Hock a call. I'm not sure if he stocks wider than 2" but if not he could probably make it easily enough. If not, then I would buy a standard bench plane and cap iron (flat, not humped - Hock's are flat)in the width you want and grind the iron down to a length of 3 1/2" - 4 1/2".

[SMeekWoodworks]

For a Krenov style plane, thicker is most definitely better for the blade. You could buy a Lie-Nielsen or Pinnacle replacement blade, which are thicker than the old Stanleys, and just make your own chip breaker. Ron Hock could absolutely custom make a larger size, I've asked him before. But you will wait a good amount of time and spend a bit more obviously. I've been waiting to do so until I can justify a large number of them at once to keep cost down.

[Bob Rozaieski]

Can I use a stanley type blade to make a krenov style plane? Need something wider than 2".

Yes. Finck talks about modifying the irons and making chipbreakers in his book. An old block plane iron would work well too, but they're narrower than 2". If the iron is bedded well, it won't chatter, even though it's thinner than the Hock and Finck blades designed for the Krenov planes.

[gardnesd]

bought some a2 steel from mcm the other day. i think im gonna try to make my own blades. be gentle.

[newageneanderthal]

bought some a2 steel from mcm the other day. i think im gonna try to make my own blades. be gentle.

Good on you man for making your own blade. Sometimes it costs more to make your own than to buy a old one, well, lots of times. However I do think that that the tool crafted by your own hand will always be closer to your heart than anything you buy, no matter how expensive or shiny.