Woodcarving Magazine
December 1996 No.32
Test Report (pages 14-15)


Woodcarving
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David Tippey Tries Microplane Tools
From Carroll Engineering
(Carroll Engineering is a UK distributor for
Microplanes made by Grace)

Although I understand these tools have been available in the UK before, they were not widely available or advertised, or at least I never noticed them. Microplane tools are sheet metal files, designed to be a more refined version of a rasp, with holes for the shavings to pass through rather than clogging the teeth.

This concept is not new. There are thousands of very similar looking Surform sheet metal rasps in workshops up and down the country, but the Surform was only a marginal improvement on the ordinary rasp it was intended to replace, and mine rarely venture from the tool cupboard.

The idea was good, but the tool action was not really cutting the timber, but a combination of rasping, scraping and tearing, that left the surface very rough with bits ripped out of it, especially on the end grain of soft timbers.

When I first saw these Microplane tools I thought they were just a modified version of the Surform, but when I tried them I was very surprised by the giant leap in performance over their old counterparts. The Microplane tools are made from a tough grade of brush-finished stainless steel, and the very sharp teeth are created by a chemical milling process.

Surform
I compared a new, sharp Surform blade to a Microplane one of similar size and shape. The difference in cutting action was quite remarkable. The Microplane blade lived up to its name and planed the wood away with much less effort than the Surform required, creating smaller, finer shavings which didn't tend to clog the blade.

The Microplane blade not only required less effort, but it removed the timber faster and more cleanly stroke by stroke. I received six versions of the blade for testing. Two of these, one round and one square in section, were fitted with wooden handles, one was a replacement for the standard flat Surform tool blade, and the other three were intended to be held in an 305mm, 12in hacksaw frame.

These three blade styles were: rigid half round, rigid flat, and a useful looking flexible flat version.

My round Surform constantly fills up with shavings, which pack in very tightly necessitating frequent breaks to poke them out with a screwdriver, so I was glad to find this was no longer necessary with the Microplane version.

The small shavings produced by the cutting action easily shook out of the round file.

The hacksaw frame seemed a bit clumsy to use at first, and there will be some situations where it would hinder access, but I soon found I didn't really notice it and adjusted my style of working to suit.

The manufacturers say you can use the blades out of the frame in confined areas, but although the edges of the blade are finger safe, a dig-in would make a mess of your hand, so I would only consider it after donning a thick leather glove.

Blades
The rigid blades worked quite well if used in the manner of draw-filing, that is used sideways at a slight angle and pulled towards you, and used like this maintained straight clean edges.

The Microplane blades certainly cut faster and cleaner, and the manufacturer claims a much longer life for them too, as well as having the advantage of not rusting if you work on green timber or have a damp workshop.

Although I have not actually blunted one of them yet, it appears you can re-sharpen them to some extent by rubbing a fine oilstone over the teeth, thus extending their useful life.

I was very pleased with the performance of these rasp-type tools, and think they are well worth trying.

I found the round version fitted with the wooden handle particularly useful, and it has found a permanent place on the tool board above my bench. The flexible blade has become a permanent fixture in my spare hacksaw frame too.


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