Clifton Hand Planes?

[Mark Rios]

Anyone heard (I'm sure you have) of these? May I ask your thoughts on this manufacturer and their planes?

http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11779


Thank you very muchv.

[Ken Garlock]

From what I have heard, Mark, they are very good planes. Go for the buy.

[Horst Hohoff]

According to David Charlesworth ( English woodworking teacher ) the Cliftons are quite good planes, though not quite up to Lie - Nielsen standard.

[Mark Rios]

According to David Charlesworth ( English woodworking teacher ) the Cliftons are quite good planes, though not quite up to Lie - Nielsen standard.

Thanks for the replies.

In what way are they not quite up to LN, please?

[Bernhard Kühnen]

[quote=Mark Rios]Anyone heard (I'm sure you have) of these? May I ask your thoughts on this manufacturer and their planes?

Mark,

they are from England (but I am not sure whether they are now produced in India). I have the #4 1/2, 5 1/2 and 7 and the 3 in 1.
As Horst said they are not as good as the LN´s (personally I would rank them on the same level as the Veritas).

Before they work they need certainly more treatment than LN. They have been my first iron planes but than I became LN-addicted

Bernhard

[Bernhard Kühnen]

In what way are they not quite up to LN, please?[/quote]

Mark,

flatness of LN is better
the body of LN is unbreakable
the iron and the lever cab of LN is better

But as said the Clifton is a good plane.
Anyhow, if I have the extra money I will always choose LN

Bernhard

[Steve Wargo]

At one point I owned a Clifton 4, 5 and 7 and medium shoulder plane. I now own all LN Bench planes and retained the Clifton Shoulder plane. The Cliftons are nice planes, and were quite adequate... but as stated before, they are not LN's.

[Bernhard Kühnen]

At one point I owned a Clifton 4, 5 and 7 and medium shoulder plane. I now own all LN Bench planes and retained the Clifton Shoulder plane. The Cliftons are nice planes, and were quite adequate... but as stated before, they are not LN's.

You have to be careful with the 4 and 5. Here the handle is fixed with only one screw. Therefore sometimes the handle could get loose.

[Bruce Branson]

They are too costly for not being ductile iron.

[John Davies]

Speaking as an English woodworker:

They are certainly not produced in India!!

They are, as the posts suggest, a good plane: not quite at L-N standard of finish, but capable of very, very good results once personalised. I own Stanley Bailey pattern planes, L-N, Veritas and HNT Gordon, and a number of one offs and woodies. My finish smoother is a tuned Clifton number 4.

They are bedrock pattern, and have an unusual 'stayset' cap iron, which comes in 2 pieces. The claimed advantage is that you can set the cap iron, use the plane, and then, if necessary, remove the lower half, strop the blade, and replace the lower half without losing the set of the cap iron (hence 'stayset'...).

Best part, IMHO? A superb, cast Sheffield steel blade. Again, I have all sorts of blades: antique forged, A2 cryo, modern Hock, etc etc. The Clifton blades are not the longest lasting (although pretty good), but they are really, really nice to sharpen. The steel has a lovely 'buttery' feel on the stone. I know that sounds a bit mad, but I can't find a better way of describing what I mean - they just seem to give more feedback than any other blade. They can be bought as aftermarket addons under the 'Victor' brand, and make excellent replacement blades for wooden smoothers. Quite thick, so be aware before swapping one into a modern bailey.

Bottom line: if you're in the market, they're well worth trying. Fully capable of excellent results, and nice to hold/look at - a more traditional look than the L-Ns... I accept that they're not ductile iron - but then, I don't throw my bench planes around the shop too often...

[Mark Singer]

I have the Clifton #4 and a small Clifton shoulder plane....they are excellent and very well made...The cap iron is 2 piece which holds the setting when removing the iron. It is a very good plane !

[Jay Davidson]

I am going to sell my Clifton #4 Smoother because my wife got me an A5 Norris type (Ray Iles) smoother (can you believe it, she not only puts up with me, but buys the A5!)

My impression of the Clifton is they are certainly well made, however, I did have to hone the throat and frog carefully. These surfaces were way too rough for a plane of this caliber. This is not typical of Lie-Nielsen and Veritas planes. Also honed the base flat. AFter a lot of work, the Clifton works fine, takes about 0.001" shaving easily. Good heavy iron, not too much back lash on depth adjuster, no chatter with sharp iron. Comfortable handle.

My impression is that Lie-Nielsen and Veritas work great, almost out of the box. Still have to lap the iron's face and hone the bevel, but not much else with these. Love the handle on the Lie-Nielsen, it is wide and comfortable. The Veritas' handle is a little too narrow for comfortable planing over long periods (old age: well, it's better than the alternative.)

Am not knocking the Clifton, it is a great plane, just plan on some careful honing to get it working.

[Steven Wilson]

I have a fairly complete set of their Bench Planes and one shoulder plane. They're a good plane and were a good value (they raised their prices a couple of years ago and have been a bit dear compared to LN). I choose LN for speciality planes.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I have a Clifton #3 that is my "go to" smoother. Sole came spot on. Blade need a bit of honing, but the Clifton iron sharpened beautifully.

One complaint I had was the tote was very loose and would not tighten properly even with a bit of shortening to the rod. Ended using some gunstock bedding compound under the tote, took care of the issue. Tote may have been overmachined in the under the tote area, but the bedding compound filled in the deficit.

Like I said, this plane just feels right to me. Bought from "The Best Things"--great price and service--about 15% less than #3 LN. No connection, just satisfied customer.

[John Davies]

And, of course, much as it pains me to admit it, their customer care is good, but not as good as L-N/Veritas: Europe still has a long way to go to achieve New World standards in that respect...