The Sacrilege!

[Pat Barry]

As for framing hammers, if you are swinging one all day, the more expensive ones are lighter and more ergonomic which translates to avoiding arthritis and carpal tunnel etc. The 18 year old on the job site may not notice or care.

Framing hammers are pretty much the same weight. The expensive ones may be better balanced, have better ergonomics to the handle, etc

[Sean Hughto]

It's been 25years, but I thought the titanium ones were supposed to be lighter, but gave the same swing force with length or some such? I defer to experts and plead weak memory of the details.

[Sean Hughto]

http://www.amazon.com/Stiletto-TI14M.../dp/B00002265Y

[Kees Heiden]

Few 19th Century woodworkers would have chosen a Stanley over the better-made LN.

Been thinking about it a little more. We actually have a precedent. The Bedrock planes never were a commercial success like the Bailey planes were. Most woodworkers obviously didn't see the advantages, but they did see the higher price. Add to that the A2 irons incompatible with their novaculate stones, the softer castings and the not so much improved chipbreaker, and I don't see a big selling point.

[Pat Barry]

http://www.amazon.com/Stiletto-TI14M.../dp/B00002265Y

Must be the LN of the hammer world. Then again it might be like the titanium golf clubs you can buy now. Everything keeps improving (except hand planes)LOL

[Andrew Fleck]

Must be the LN of the hammer world. Then again it might be like the titanium golf clubs you can buy now. Everything keeps improving (except hand planes)LOL

This one http://www.amazon.com/Stiletto-TB15S...tiletto+hammer is more like the LN of the hammer world.

[george wilson]

It escapes me how a hammer can be lighter,but hit as hard!! Titanium must be a magical metal. I have worked titanium a little bit(of course there are many alloys),and it is pretty tough,light,and even took a decent edge when I honed it(it wasn't REAL hard),but the hammer thing puzzles me.

And,I CAN be pretty irrational about tool buying,or sometimes what I'll take the trouble to make!!

[Sean Hughto]

It escapes me how a hammer can be lighter,but hit as hard!!

physics

head speed, swing arc, etc.

[Joe Leigh]

Force = mass (x) velocity.

Less weight equals greater head speed. (at least that's the premise by which they sell $400 drivers).

[John Coloccia]

They're probably much stiffer too. More speed, more stiffness and better mass distribution makes up for the reduction in weight.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Actually Pat the last bit of your post should have been "they've improved everything but the golfer"

[Niels Cosman]

I have followed this thread with interest not because of the discussion of the main topic, but rather because of the attitudes expressed by those posting. I'll be right up front and say I haven't read Chris Schwarz's blog in a couple of years, nor anyone else's for that matter. I just don't have the time and besides, I'd rather work wood than BS and obsess about how many angels can fit on the head of a pin. What I note is that there is disagreement with one man's opinion and a subtle underlying question of whether or not he has the right to express that opinion because of his status as a blogger, former magazine editor, and public personality. Right now, I'll make my bias clear. Chris Schwarz, or anyone else for that matter, is entitled to their opinion and the right to express it. On a forum like this one, as opposed to a blog, the only restrictions to that right are politeness, decency, and following Terms Of Service requirements. You as individuals have the right to disagree with his opinions and post that disagreement, but you have no right to restrict his right solely based on his profession or his status. Life is too short to get your jockeys or boxers in a twist because of something posted on the internet.

For Derek. When I do demos of actually making something useful, my kit limitations are usually based on what I need rather than any consideration of whether or not it is a currently available item or an older used tool. You might have to make a different choice if you are being sponsored or having travel subsidized. The real golden rule being that he who has the gold makes the rules. For me it comes down to convenience, space and weight limitations, and quite often a whim. I don't really feel that I have to make rational reasoned choices all of the time. Any chance you might have a spare pet rock I could borrow Mister Applegate?

AMEN!!
Geez, with 11 pages of discussion and going, you wonder where people find time to do any woodworking. I just exhausted myself reading the first page.

[Wilbur Pan]

In terms of the rosewood, purchasing a quartered piece to make a knob (and then turning it) and purchasing a quartered or rift board big enough to make a handle is not trivial. LN's cocobolo handles and knobs were wonderful, but they eventually upcharged $50 for them (instead of the initial $25) and quit. The fact that a $300-$475 plane has cherry handles on it is a fairly big deal.

There’s a very practical reason Lie-Nielsen uses cherry instead of rosewood for their handles. One by one, all the Lie-Nielsen workers who worked on the rosewood/cocobolo handles developed allergies to those species.

I like the look of the cherry handles, myself.

[David Weaver]

Wilbur, I agree. I was in a rush this morning and forgot to mention the allergy part of the explanation. That wasn't the initial reason for use of cherry, though (which was standard before anyone was allergic to it). Those have been my only two bits of contention with LN planes (aside from the weight in some of them), the cherry handles as standard and their inability to make a depth adjustment knob that has even as much style as a stanley.

One gets used to the cherry, but I do recall how offputting I found the second plane I got (cherry) after I spent the $$ to get the first one in cocobolo. It's uncommon enough now that when you see one with cocobolo, it looks funny. Were I to buy a new one, I'd gladly pay even $50 extra to get the cocobolo (and at the time they were $50, I recall TLN saying they were down to one person who wasn't yet allergic).

(it's been about 6 years now since any were available, according to the magic old post finder in SMC).

[Shawn Pixley]

Force = mass (x) velocity.

Less weight equals greater head speed. (at least that's the premise by which they sell $400 drivers).

Just like baseball bats. A heavier bat does not necessarilly allow you to hit a ball harder. The right bat is the longest and heaviest that you can swing rapidly enough to make proper contact with a pitched ball. Too many use bats that are too heavy for them. They can't catch up to the ball or can't get enough velocity on the swing.

There would be of course factors of resiliency and center of mass of the swung object.