Ray, I quit on mine after trim # 66. Haven't used it for a couple of weeks. I was going to re-sharpen it again, but looking the teeth, I managed to get them pretty beat up. Still a good concept, and on par value wise with a traditional rasp. The thing is that the plane is so great to use for the first half of it's life, how bad is it compared to a traditional rasp in the last half of it's life? I'm thinking plane for shoeing, cause it works so nice and leaves such a nice finish, and traditional rasp for just trims. Regards
my experience, Hoof plane consistantly did 3 times the horses compared to Heller Legend, Save Edge,etc. but priced at 3 times the money, so basically it's a wash. So if the price of the planes comes down or rasps goes up, it will be time to reconsider
Brian, I've never used the Heller Legend. Do you know how it compares to the Heller Red Tang or save edge? How many horses, on average, would you say you get out of a rasp? I average about 45 to 50, with some getting as low as 40 and some as high as 60. I usually retire them somewhere between 50 and 60, torturing myself to squeeze every drop of life out of them, LOL. One other thing I consistently notice is that the rasps I send away to be sharpened typically come back sharper than new. If I sharpen them myself, on a wheel, they come out almost as sharp as new, but don't seem to last as long, by about half. I'm thinking that if they could add a couple of points the Rockwell hardness, it would be a better rasp, or hoof plane, although quite brittle. Ray's plane is about 30 % cheaper than the Pferd, and lasts me as long, making it a better bargain. I have used 3 Pferds, but only one of Ray's, so I certainly can't claim high validity for my statements on them. I do suspect that I tend to use the planes longer than I should, because I'm such a tightwad, but the first 20 or so trims with them I think I've died and gone to heaven. Regards
30 to 35 horses with the legend or save edge. I find the heller is more consistant quality than the save edge. I have only used 12 Pferd hoof planes , 250 Heller legends, 750 + save edge & God knows how many Nicholson's, so my experience might differ from others
Thanks Brian. I find the Hellers more consistent as well. I used Save Edge exclusively for years, then they started going to hell. 30 to 35? I knew it, I'm working myself too hard, and no wonder I'm so slow!! Regards
I tried the new samples today.... i was again disappointed, they were clogging up like a banshee........... then ,my brain unfroze for a second and i realized that it was 4 degrees below 0 F., they were freezing, clogging because any moisture in the hoof froze when it touched the steel. usually i would not work in that kind of temp. but i wanted to try the planes and just jumped to the conclusion that they weren t performing. let ya know when it warms up, gonna go wedge some leather for the rest of the day, with my butt backed up to the wood stove! Regards Ray
Ray, I could test one for you here in Michigan, Thought it was a heat wave today, almost 20 degrees with the wind chill of 0. More hunt horses tomorrow, yippee.
Brian, thanks, 18 degrees at 8 am is usually my cut off, today I was just overly enthusiastic............. I ll be sawing wood tomorrow Regards Ray
Kim and Ray, LOL, you could pretty much plan in taking January and February off up here. Kim could probably use the time to recuperate. Regards
I'm extremely cold natured. I can handle the heat very well. I'd stay chopping down trees if I lived up there. lol
Dramatic Climate charge here in Michigan. Moday's forcast calls for mid 40s and thunder storms. Somebody has really pissed off Mother Nature now.
I guess those new planes are temperature sensitive, the trims i did this morning were done with the same tools that did not work last week in the 4 below day, the planes were very good! now i can report back to the european manufacturer that they are quality and start working on a small production run so as to get an accurate pricing and have enough to get quality feedback from the ultimate users. Regards Ray
I like the spirit vallorbe xl and the pferd as well. pferd does cut well. and the XL more wider gives fewer strokes to trim up.
Ray, This is the kind of research I appreciate. If I ever find myself within 35-40 degrees of those temps, I will keep your findings in mind.
Not wanting to disrupt the tools contest I thought I d post this improvement to the plane that froze up! The 1st electrified rasp! Can t wait to try it! Ray
Info on the Pferd Hoof plane, i m told to expect approx. 5% increase this year. Those who use them may want to order some soon. I don t have word on other products yet Ray
