OK I did some digging in my garage closet

[Arlin Eastman]

and found 3 Stanley spoke shaves

1. #51
2. #53
3. #55m which is the concave or rounded inside one.

So what is the difference between the 51, 53, and 58?  It seems the first two will do the same thing and read a post here somewhere in Handtools about how good the 58 is.  Is it the same as the 51 & 53?

Also the 55m is a really nice one but needs sharpening and wonder how it is done?  With a hone? or round stone or just flat like a normal flat blade?

[Bill_Houghton]

The 51 is a basic spokeshave: lever cap tightens down to hold the cutting iron in place.  You set the iron by feel or by guess. The fancier version is the 151, with two knurled nuts to set the iron; I personally prefer the 51 or 52 (same as the 51 but with straight handles), because the nuts can get in the way in tight corners.

The 53 has an adjustable mouth.  You first set the iron and hold it in place with the screw you can see in the iron's slot.  The mouth then adjusts wider or narrower as needed for the work.  Some folks love them.  I've hardly ever used mine.

Sharpening the 55: I've honed mine with sandpaper wrapped around a dowel.  Present the dowel to the blade at whatever angle is needed to fit the curve.  There are stones for this kind of honing, but the dowel and sandpaper are cheaper.  Wet-and-dry sandpaper, with a lubricant like mineral spirits or water, will work best.

[Arlin Eastman]

Thanks Bill.  I will copy and paste this in a word doc for later use.

So how does the 58 come into play is it the same as the 51 and 53?

[Bill_Houghton]

I had to look in my old Stanley catalog, never having seen a 58.  On the 51 and 52 (and also on the 151/52), the cap iron pivots on a screw, and is tightened in place by a thumbscrew at the top.  On the 58, the cap iron is held in place by tightening the screw that holds it on, which is in the same location as the pivot screw on the 51.

I presume the 58 is similar to the lightweight 63 and 64 shaves, with the cap iron touching the cutting iron all around, instead of just at the bottom, with the thumbscrew touching at the top.  In theory, if the cap iron and cutting iron are well mated, this might lead to less chatter; but I'm not sure I'd search the world for a 58 just to test that theory.

And, in use, it would be more awkward than a 51.  You'd have to have a screwdriver at hand to tighten it up, and keeping the cutting iron aligned while fussing with a screwdriver doesn't sound like fun.

[Arlin Eastman]

Yah

I do not like the screw either on all three of mine and thinking of replacing them with a thumb screw if I can find them.  So much easier to adjust then stopping to get a screwdriver.