Duane Bozarth responds:

You'all are misreading/misinterpreting what I've saying here...I don't
have anything particularly against the segmented heads but don't think
the overall cost of knives will be that much less than solid carbide
(except if you do hit stuff with yours fairly often which I'm careful to
not do...if I have old material I use a set of old knives)...

How well these work for the long run will be interesting to see w/
time.

Personally, I believe that the cost of the segments will be less, overall, then
the cost of HSS knives, and far less than carbide knives. There are advantages
to the HSS--a better edge being the major one, added to lower start-up cost.
The carbide knives can be sharpened, but not in most hobby shops (also a
problem with any jointer knives over 6" long). The use of old knives with old
wood is a good idea, but think of the extra set-up time needed. And what
happens if you only have one set of old knives, and hit a hardened nail or two
right off the bat.

I'm stuck with HSS knives for the foreseeable future, but somewhere down the
road, I'd surely love to have an 8 or 12" spiral head jointer. And about 80
extra segments.


Charlie Self
"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder
respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." George Orwell