Millers Falls cigar shave

[Sheffield Tony]

I find myself periodically tempted to try one one of these. But they don't come cheap, so ... anyone who's used one (Pete ?) - are they good ? How do they compare with more conventional curved base spokeshaves ?

The voice of reason in me says that the originals seem fairly rare, and that there seems to be a lack of modern copies - which suggests they were not greatly useful or popular ?

 

[monkeybiter]

Can't contribute apart from:- used one at £50
I've bought from them before, no probs.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

I'm like you - never yet found a situation where I really need one, and find it hard to justify the expense. If I were to buy one, I think the woodjoy one looks very nice:

https://www.classichandtools.com/acatal ... odjoy.html

Cheers, W2S

 

[Racers]

They are very very good, a bit tricky to sharpen and master but its the one I reach for instead of my Preston ones.

Millars Falls No1 cigar shave by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

Concave and convex in one stroke.

I last saw one in the Old Tool Mart Fulbeck Linconshire, it was cheapish.

http://www.oldtoolmart.co.uk/

That wood joy one has a flat blade not a curved one like the Millars Falls.

Pete

 

[AndyT]

There was a copy - I can't check at present, but I am pretty sure it was by Moore and Wright. A bit of a departure for them, and probably even rarer than the MF original.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Oh gosh. Wish you hadn't told me that Andy - a cigar shave with Sheffield heritage. Want one !

Thanks for the video Pete. I was sure I'd seen that picture before, but only just realised it was a video ! I was wondering how these are best used, drawn, pushed ? And depth of cut controlled by the toe or heel of the shave ?

I'm even more tempted now. Except that I've spent my budget this afternoon stocking my garage with wood

 

[toolsntat]

Don't forget the "as seen in the wild today"
Cincinnati Tool Co. Round Spokeshave c. 1905
http://ontarioantiquetools.com/shop/spo ... ve-c-1905/
(That brass was a repair then Andy)
Cheers Andy

 

[ED65]

This has been online for a while but in case you haven't seen it Tony, Getting the Most from the Millers Falls MF 1 “Cigar Shave” by Jim Hendricks.

 

[Racers]

Come on Tony we need to know your decision ;-)

Couple on eBay!

Pete

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I should have known not to ask you lot, bound to lead me astray...

Still, not too big to smuggle in past the wife ...

 

[Racers]

The rounded end should help as well :shock:

:wink:

Pete

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Well, £50 poorer, but it has arrived Pictures to follow.

It will clearly need some sharpening. The cutting edge is dull, cambered and lop-sided, but maybe that is intentional to give varied depths of cut ?

So we generally agree with the article from Jimi mentioned above regarding how it should be sharpened ? Keen to get it right, as I suspect spare cutters are not common !

Thanks for the advice and temptation ...

 

[AndyT]

Yes, I followed Jim's advice on mine - though I confess I have not used it as much as Pete has his.
But surely, buying an old tool just for the sake of curiosity is not a bad thing to do?

 

[Racers]

Well, £50 poorer, but it has arrived Pictures to follow.

It will clearly need some sharpening. The cutting edge is dull, cambered and lop-sided, but maybe that is intentional to give varied depths of cut ?

So we generally agree with the article from Jimi mentioned above regarding how it should be sharpened ? Keen to get it right, as I suspect spare cutters are not common !

Thanks for the advice and temptation ...

Was that the one on ebay recently?
Looked like it has a bevel on the outside in the pictures.

Pete

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Here's what I've bought:

In its current state, there is not the wide, flat outside bevel I see in Jimi's pictures of sharpening one, more a curve in to meet the inner surface at a rather blunt edge, with no inside bevel at all. Looking around the web, the consensus seems to be for a wide, flat outside bevel, of angle unspecified (and difficult to specify). I find this just a bit surprising; this seems to me one case where a rounded bevel might just make sense - it is meant to do concave surfaces after all. What do you reckon ? Is the flat bevel correct for reasons I'm not seeing, or is the previous owner of this tool, and my intuitive sense, correct that a gently rounded bevel is more appropriate ?

I know I am tiptoeing into a minefield here. Sorry in advance for bringing it up ...

 

[Cheshirechappie]

There's a good case to be made for setting out a large scale sectional drawing through the centre of the tool, showing the body and cutter. That way, the relationship between blade cross-sectional shape (and thus sharpening strategy), how it interacts with the workpiece, and the escape for the waste should become much clearer.

 

[AndyT]

Inspired by your post, I've just been and had a go with mine. I've now remembered why it's not seen much use.
I find it really fiddly.
In sharpening, a flat bevel seemed natural, just from rubbing it end to end on the stone, which is more stable than rubbing it front to back.
In use, it's frustrating that it's so hard to adjust - even with very gentle tapping, with the screws slightly slackened, it was easy to go straight from not cutting to jamming, without finding any intermediate sweet spot.
(I was tempted to file the mouth a little - when it does cut, there is barely enough clearance for the shaving and it would clog easily. Maybe it would behave better on nicer wood than I used.)

So I shall refrain from offering any advice, except to say that as with big bench planes, a rub with a candle end makes a huge difference.

 

[Racers]

Flat bevel will give you a clearance angle like a BD plane blade put a ruler on the mouth and blade and look at the gap. the rounded one is incorrect.

Pete

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Awkward little b****r isn't it. Mine was a long way from right to start, and my first go at sharpening with grinder and oilstone has left we with not enough relief to work. I'll have another go, maybe by hand with a homemade jig. At least from there I can correct it without losing more length in the cutter. How do you check the bevel angle on a cylindrical cutter ?

 

[Racers]

If you want to borrow mine to compare let me know.

Pete