"David sent me a few of his irons.  They are very special.  With my Finck irons truly sharp, my planes are as fine as they can be."
James Krenov, 2005                               

These plane irons are custom made for the type of wooden hand planes featured in my book, "Making and Mastering Wood Hand Planes," published by Sterling and released October 2000. The planes are often called "Krenov-style" planes in honor of Jim Krenov who adapted the classic European wooden planes to this present form and wrote about them in his book, "The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking," also published by Sterling.

Disappointed with the performance of all the plane irons I had tried, I developed these plane irons specifically for outstanding edge retention. They feature 3/16 inch, precision ground, A-2 tool steel, which is specially alloyed for abrasion resistance and toughness. The thickness provides for a relatively wide bevel , making free-hand honing a simpler, more accurate task. The irons are heat treated for maximum hardness (Rc 62 ± 1 then cryogenically (deep freeze) treated to further refine the grain structure of the steel.

The result is simply amazing abrasion and chip resistance. In other words, they stay sharp a really long time!  Many people who have tried them tell me they are simply the best blades available. The irons come with a nicely profiled and fitted chip-breaker. This is critical to prevent fine shavings from clogging the throat opening or jamming between the chip-breaker and plane iron.  One further refinement is the washer incorporated with the cap-screw (that's the screw that holds the blade and chip-breaker together).  This arrangement eliminates annoying skewing of the blade and chip-breaker as the cap-screw is tightened.  Your satisfaction is unconditionally guaranteed.

Please Note:
I leave the cutting edge of the blades blunt to guard against chipping during production and shipping as well as to provide for a cutting edge that is properly heat treated as soon as it is formed. Letting you do this work also saves significantly on the cost of the blades. To aid in the initial grinding, the bevel has been formed at 29 degrees.  Set your grinder tool rest to slightly favor the tip (cutting edge) of the bevel and the grinding will proceed quite rapidly.  The bevel should end up at 30 degrees.  I recommend a 60 grit friable bond aluminum oxide wheel on a 1200 rpm grinder to do the job efficiently. It shouldn't take longer than 3-4 minutes to grind out to a knife edge.

Blade selection guidelines--
1-1/2" blades are for block planes and jointer planes; 1-3/4" blades are for smoothing, jack and jointer planes; and 2" blades are typically chosen for smoothing planes. All Blades are 3 1/2" long. Note: I am no longer stocking 1-1/4" wide blades.

[CLICK ON THE PRICE BELOW TO ORDER THE SPECIFIC BLADE ONLINE]

After maintining prices for 18 years, I regret that I have had to adjust prices due to significant leaps in the cost of labor and materials.   I still feel these blades offer excellent  value for their performance and quality. 

 - Click here to view my Spokeshave Irons

David Finck, Woodworker
161 Hickory Trail Banner Elk, NC 28604
phone: 828-963-6504
e-mail: info@davidfinck.com