What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother?

What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - Printable Version

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RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - Admiral - 11-08-2016

About 10+ years ago one in mint condition was worth $130 and fudge were asking more, not anymore; that's what drove me to buy a LN, which at the time was somewhere around $260 or so. That guy is using the "book", whichever book that might be, and he's wrong on value unless he had the box and all the paperwork, etc. He'll keep lugging it around for some time at that price. True retail for something like that is somewhere around $75-$90, depending on condition.

RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - Bill_Houghton - 11-08-2016

My goodness. The rusty Sargent 4-1/2 (with nearly used up Berg cutting iron) that I picked up a couple of years ago for $12 must be quite the bargain, then.

Still haven't gotten around to cleaning it up; too many distractions.

RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - Admiral - 11-08-2016

Oh, they are out there, more common than #8s, #5 1/2s and #2s, but condition is key to value. I passed on two different #4 1/2s (one $45, one $40) in the last ten days as both were rustbuckets and would need a lot of work to get back into shape.

RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - Steve N - 11-09-2016

To answer your question about why would someone spend..................This Sellers guy speaks very highly of them. A lot of his followers will spend obscene money to get what he likes, same as The Schwarz, and many of the other hand too gurus.

The Schwarz is frequently accused of buying up all of the XYZ he can afford, do a big write up about them, and then sell them off on Flea Bay just slowly enough to make them look rare. Possibly it's true, and writing doesn't pay as much as tool flipping :-)

RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - Admiral - 11-09-2016

(11-09-2016, 06:12 PM)Steve N Wrote: The Schwarz is frequently accused of buying up all of the XYZ he can afford, do a big write up about them, and then sell them off on Flea Bay just slowly enough to make them look rare. Possibly it's true, and writing doesn't pay as much as tool flipping :-)

This I seriously doubt.

RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - Smoothjazz077 - 11-10-2016

Laugh

That's a good point Steve. I guess in every woodworker, there is financial entrepreneur.

RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - Downwindtracker2 - 11-10-2016

In my case, it's sure buried deep. He said as he prepares a list for a trip to Lee Valley.

RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - AUswimKC - 11-10-2016

(Yesterday, 08:12 pm)Steve N Wrote:
The Schwarz is frequently accused of buying up all of the XYZ he can afford, do a big write up about them, and then sell them off on Flea Bay just slowly enough to make them look rare. Possibly it's true, and writing doesn't pay as much as tool flipping :-)

Having met the man, and having been a recipient of his extreme generosity, this statement couldn't be further from the truth (whether made in jest or not). If anything, Schwarz would buy up something on the cheap that he deemed a necessity and then give them all away to budding woodworkers once they became too rich.

RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - tablesawtom - 11-13-2016

The best of the oldies is the Keen Kutter K4 1/2. Same plane as the Bedrock 604 1/2 round side, cheaper in price. The one thing I have found is the really old ones, about the turn of the century, tended to be lighter in weight

[Image: DSC02860_zpsivevneli.jpg]

Tom

RE: What is it about the 4 1/2 smoother? - C. in Indy - 11-13-2016

On that tangent.... Thin Keen Kutter casting? No problems! Kentucky Khrome (JB Weld) and some thin bar-stock rescued this Bedrock Keen Kutter of mine:

<img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d38/C66RUPPEL/Cold_Weld_zpsndcqub5a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Cold_Weld_zpsndcqub5a.jpg"/>