I wonder if anybody has any experience with these German planes ? I find them very appealing as they are made of wood, but Im unsure about the plane iron. They say its German vanadium-cromesteel, whatever that is ? Is it comparable to O1, or A2 ?
[OP]
Member
I wonder if anybody has any experience with these German planes ? I find them very appealing as they are made of wood, but Im unsure about the plane iron. They say its German vanadium-cromesteel, whatever that is ? Is it comparable to O1, or A2 ?
Best regards
Lasse Hilbrandt
Contributor
I have three of them. The irons are harder than O1, but not as hard as A2. You can get a really sharp edge on them. I have a scrub plane that gets used a lot, and a Primus Smoother, and Jointer that I have never used to amount to anything. The irons on the smoother and jointer have a strange mechanism that uses a die spring that is tensioned by a knob on the back that holds tension back on the cap. The iron is easily advanced and retracted. The only problem I had was when letting the iron get the least bit dull in the smoother, it would chatter worse than anything I've ever had in my hands. I might not have had enough tension on the die spring, but never spent much time fiddling with it. I'm so used to the old Stanleys and Records that those are the ones I reach for.
Moderator
I cannot comment on the steel. But. I have two of these and they are my favorite planes. I like them so much i am considering a primus jointer .
the only downside is the removal of the blade on the adjuster models.
[OP]
Member
What do you mean exactly ? Is it difficult or ?Originally Posted by Prashun Patel
Best regards
Lasse Hilbrandt
Contributor
There is a metal rod with a "t" on it. The T holds pressure back on the cap, and the rod goes through the die spring, has threads on the ass end that the knob on the back tightens. To remove iron, take rear knob off, pull rod forward turning "T" ninety degrees to be able to take the iron/cap/adjuster assembly out. It might take ten or fifteen seconds longer than throwing the lever on an old Stanley. It is a little fiddly though, since there is a washer under the knob that usually falls out too.
Member
I think you're supposed to be able to just push on the rear knob to release the blade but I end up unscrewing it also. As Tom says, fiddly. The spring loaded blade securement is to reduce backlash IIRC.
Member
I've got the short jointer. Didn't go for the primus mechanism because they are expensive and time consuming to remove the blade for sharpening. Pretty happy with the wedge model, but I actually find the plane a bit heavy.
Member
Another downside (besides the fiddly adjuster/ blade securement) is the extremely uncomfortable tote (on the jointer). Easy enough to fix with a rasp I suppose but off the shelf it is flat with sharp edges.
Member
ECE also makes traditional wood planes in addition to the Primus line. I can't say anything about the Primus line because I've never used one but I have a half dozen of the traditional plane line, from the Scrub to the Try with several smoothers in between, and they are all very good planes.
Contributor
I've had the the Primus Smoother and Jack along with the Scrub for over 40 years and love them. They were the first real bench planes in my shop and have remained favorites. I guess the "fiddly tee rod" never really bothered me because I didn't know better and just got OK with it.
Contributor
windows e 006 (800x600).jpgscrubplane2.jpgBill, you must have bought yours about the same time I got mine. Here's a recent picture of the scrub. That's not a shadow in front of the iron. It's wear. The mechanism never really bothered me either, but I think I didn't get good enough at sharpening when I first bought the planes, and after the chattering issue, they probably never were pulled out again.
Contributor
I have the Primus smoother- at least that's what I think it is. It's the one with the weird knob on the back and the finger jointed sole made of "lignin vitae". It's a very nice plane, I use it for smoothing softer woods. I don't use it on oak or maple because I sharpen several times a session and getting the iron out of that plane is wonky. You have to unscrew that black knob in back. It is cumbersome imho, but it is a gorgeous plane otherwise. I'd grab one if I were you. If you are looking for a good wooden smoother, I would look into a good Japanese plane.
I love my Innomoto. Very nice plane - iron really holds an edge. The dai is easy to adjust. Hard to break in to unless you have local resources, but there is a real upside to eastern tools. My $.02
Joe
Member
HI. I just acquired a Primus smoother on eBay, because I wanted something with an elevated cutting angle for gnarly grain. Can you direct me to any information about disassembling the plane for sharpening? It's very different than any plane I've used and I don't want to start dismantling something without some understanding of what all this is and how it works. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Member
Sorry, I just found the post by Tom King, which was helpful. However, as someone who likes this particular plane, any insight you might have about the tool would be appreciated. Thanks and take care Prashun.
Contributor
The tension on the knob needs to be just right. I don't know how to say what just right is. Too little, and the iron will chatter like crazy on any pass. Too tight, and it will chatter if you try to plane faster. It's sort of a balance between tension of that knob, and speed of pushing the plane.
I sold the Jointer, and sharpened the iron before I shipped it. I went ahead and sharpened the smoother too, and had it up for sale, until I tried it. I hadn't used these planes for probably 40 years. I guess my sharpening has gotten a lot better, because I never liked this plane as much as I do after sharpening the iron super sharp recently. No doubt, my planning ability has gotten better too.
If I was going to buy an ECE plane today, I'd get one without the adjuster. Just a wedge and iron is just fine.
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