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I’ve been meaning to write up a review on Veritas replacement blades and cap irons for months, but every time I sat down to do it I realized that I didn’t have the tooling here at work for photography – it was at home and getting the snot used out of it.
Veritas has done a huge favor for woodworkers who use vintage Stanley or Record planes. The Canadian company has started selling replacement irons paired with a perfectly matched cap iron (also called a chipbreaker) for an amazing price.
A 2″ iron (either A2 or O1) with a cap iron is just $55. That is considerably less than you will find for a set from other makers, at least at this nanosecond.
(If you have been following the replacement iron business, then you know there is a bit of a price war going on among some – but not all – of the makers. I don’t know how long it will last, but woodworkers are the winners here. So order soon.)
I bought a 2″ O1 set from Lee Valley and have had the set on my No. 5 Bailey while I built my tool chest. I could not be more thrilled (and I am not easily thrilled).
Some details:
1. Veritas laps the backs of its blades. This means they are dead-nuts flat from the wrapper. You don’t need to polish the backs. They come already done. Only Bridge City and Veritas does this nice extra step for you, which gives you back 30 minutes to two hours of your life.
2. The blades are thin. The are thicker than stock Stanley blades, but not so thick that you have to file open the mouth of your tool or do other metalwork on the guts of your planes. Veritas found a nice middle ground.
3. The breakers are great. Unlike stock Stanley and Record breakers, which are as effective as a Pringle’s potato crisp, these breakers are machined steel with a small lip at the tip. They fit perfectly out of the box. Other makers do this to their breakers as well.
4. through 6. The price, the price, the price.
I’m a big fan of Veritas’s O1 blades. They polish up nice and quick and hold an edge for a good long time. This is a no-reservations recommendation – these are fantastic. End of story. Buy them here.
— Christopher Schwarz
