Hock or Clifton?

[woodbloke]

Paul Chapman and his son Scott came round yesterday for a coffee and chat. Paul very kindly let me have a new spare 'Y' lever and pin from a Clifton plane for my Record No4 refurb project. I had intended to buy the Clifton blade and two piece cap iron from Axminster.....however Paul gave me this link which has set the grey matter apondering again, as the plane shown at the end has a Hock blade and cap iron. The Clifton blade is 3.1mm thick (so the 'Y' lever would need to be extended a fraction, whilst the Hock blade (available from here) is A2 steel and 2.38mm thick (3/32") and has 10% off at the mo' if ordered before the end of the Month. The 'Y' lever would not have to be extended as the blade is thinner, but the mod that Jarviser did would be useful to do in any case.
So, after all this preamble, what to you think of the Hock blades and the extra chunky cap iron, or should I stick with the Clifton blade and two piece cap iron from Axminster :? - Rob

 

[Philly]

Rob
I have a Hock blade in one of mine - keeps a very nice edge. Having used the odd Clifton I would saw they are both pretty much identical in performance (i.e. Excellent!!)
Incidentally, both Ron Hock and TLN now offer the extra thick chipbreaker - gotta mean something :wink:
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[Alf]

Use both a Hock O1 and a Clifton and they're both very lovely. Mind you, if LV have got round to putting their replacement irons on their magic back-lapping machines now, well then I'd seriously consider one of them.

Cheers, Alf

 

[woodbloke]

Philly wrote:

extra thick chipbreaker - gotta mean something

Phill - I'm starting to lean towards the Hock. Does the chunky chipbreaker make a difference over the 2 part thinner Clifton one, even tho' the Hock blade is thinner? I 'spose what I'm driving at is do you have a thinner Hock blade and thick breaker, or thicker Clifton blade and thinner chip breaker, which is better or are both going to give comparable performance? Pays your money, I fancy, but slightly more for the Hock combo - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

Just a thought, Rob. Following the good news PM I sent you a while ago, I might be down your way some time next week. I could easily bring down a Clifton blade assembly for you to try if you've put your #4 together by then (in fact, you could hang onto it for a week to play around with if that would help - and you promise to give it back :wink: ). I'm sure Philly could also arrange for you to try his Hock blade. Might help you to make up your mind - and see which option gives better results in terms of the 'Y' lever problem.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

PS I could also bring down my Record #4, which already has the mouth opened up a bit, so that you could try the blades out in it, as you haven't done the mouth on yours yet.

 

[woodbloke]

Paul - great idea, am up for that. Am working 'days' next week on Thurs/Fri so give me a PM when you're coming to town - Rob

 

[johnnyb]

maybe its me but i much prefer the samurai brand(the ones axminster sell) japanese plane irons. my clifton although excellent and thick etc cannot hold a torch to the japanese as far as final sharpness and especially edge holding. the cap iron and rest of the clifton are outstanding though.

 

[Colin C]

maybe its me but i much prefer the samurai brand(the ones axminster sell) japanese plane irons. my clifton although excellent and thick etc cannot hold a torch to the japanese as far as final sharpness and especially edge holding. the cap iron and rest of the clifton are outstanding though.

This is what I have in my #7 Stanley ( samurai blade )with a Clifton cap iron and I am very happy with it.
By the way I have not used to Clifton or Hock blades.

I do try to help :twisted:

 

[Anonymous]

I have both blades in various planes and there is nothing between them

I would buy a LN A2 blade if it were me as they hold an edge longer than either the Hock or the Clifton.

Some will no doubt dispute this, as they have in the past, however it has been my experience with 3 Clifton, 2 hock and a load of LN blades

 

[Bainzy]

maybe its me but i much prefer the samurai brand(the ones axminster sell) japanese plane irons. my clifton although excellent and thick etc cannot hold a torch to the japanese as far as final sharpness and especially edge holding. the cap iron and rest of the clifton are outstanding though.

The Samurai blade I got from Axminster and put in my #7 Bailey is indeed excellent, the only thing I didn't like about it was that it was ground to 30 degrees instead of 25 but that's a personal preference I guess.

 

[Mike B]

I have the Hock A2 iron and improved chipbreaker in my old #5 Record. It has totally transformed the plane and keeps an edge well. It was also a direct replacement with no adjustments being required to the "y" lever or anything else.

I tried an LV #4 iron to start with but that did not fit over the Record chipbreaker screw.

I have no experience of Clifton - only the LV LA jack and block with which to compare it, although it is probably slightly better if anything than the LV (but then again I seem to use the Record way more than the LV... )

 

[woodbloke]

MikeB wrote:

I have the Hock A2 iron and improved chipbreaker in my old #5 Record. It has totally transformed the plane and keeps an edge well

Mike - I think that this is what I'm going to go for at the end of the month when SWIMBO allows me a few pennies to spend :-({|= - Rob

 

[Gary M]

Hi Rob,
I can get you the hock blade and chip breaker for £45.00 if your interested ??
let me know mate.