Replaceable blades bring an end to chore of hand plane sharpening
Purists may complain but a case can be made for just picking up a tool and using it
If you've done even a little woodworking or home renovation, you've probably noticed that hand planes don't work very well. At least not until they're sharp and tuned up. In this way, hand planes are like violins. Even the most accomplished musician can't just pick up a violin after months of it sitting on the shelf and have the instrument sound good. It needs to be tuned, and the biggest part of tuning any hand plane is getting the blade at least as sharp as a new razor blade. This takes practice and equipment, and that's why a line of no-sharpen hand planes made in Switzerland caught my eye.
I've long wondered why someone didn't make a hand plane following the same philosophy as a utility knife, with a replaceable blade. When the blade gets dull, you just install a fresh one. This is the idea behind the RALI line of planes.
There are a handful of different models, but each one comes with a small, double-sided replaceable blade that's easy to change, all with no need to sharpen.
In a sense, you might consider this low-level cheating, and I understand why. Just like a good violinist should be able to tune their own instrument, a good woodworker should also be able to get their tools in working order. And while this is true, there's also a case to be made for just picking up a plane and having it work. Perhaps you aren't interested in climbing the learning curve involved in sharpening a plane. Maybe you only need a plane now and then to trim a sticky door or smooth a piece of rough lumber, so you can't justify the expense of sharpening equipment. Regardless of the reason, I find it handy to have a plane that doesn't require any fiddling to get to work, even though I have no trouble sharpening a regular plane.
To be fair, the RALI plane does not cut quite as well as a perfectly sharpened regular plane, but it's 95 per cent of the way there. That's plenty, since for many wood planing applications this is more than good enough. In fact, even if you can sharpen a hand plane to rival a surgical scalpel, there are times when you don't want to endanger that great blade in construction or renovation situations. Even most fine woodworking tasks can be completed just fine with a RALI.
If it weren't for a man named Matthew Betteto, I wouldn't know about RALI planes. He owns and operates Tersa Knives, an Ontario company that sells planes and other tools, and he sent me the RALI plane to try. I've been using the 260 Evolution model in my workshop for a few months and I'm impressed. It's tough, works well, and never needs sharpening in the usual sense because of the small, replaceable, double-sided blades. There are two kinds available.
The chrome steel blade that comes with the plane holds its edge for a surprisingly long time, but the carbide blade lasts even longer. This plane is also easier to adjust than traditional models, and it's super-easy to swap out the blade. It literally takes five seconds. The entire blade holder flips up and opens, letting you pop out the old blade and either flip it over to use the other edge if it's still fresh, or install a new blade.
The RALI line of planes sidesteps the challenge of learning to sharpen, and this is part of a trend when it comes to tools and building materials. More and more difficult tasks or processes are handled by design and manufacturing, not user skill. When it comes to woodworking planes this might offend purists, but it does let you get more done with less skill. And isn't there something to be said for that?