Ben Bentley

Welcome! Follow me here for updates on my planes, blades, knives and other stuff I'm working on. Let me know if you see anything you like!

07/23/2022

I turned 38 on Thursday, so I figured I’d start my mid-life crisis off right with a new roadster! It’s actually a 2001 BMW Z3, but has only 25k miles and one owner. 2.5L straight six with a 5-speed manual. It’s been garaged it’s whole life and never seen winter. My new summer daily driver 🏎🔥

04/16/2022

So, I won’t be making any knives (or plane irons) for a while, as I don’t have room to set up a metal shop at the new house yet. More updates on the shop later. I figured I should do one last knife nerd post before shifting focus back to planes for a while.

1) These are the only knives of mine that I still own, and they were the first of each type that I attempted. The chef knife gets used almost every day and has acquired quite the battle worn patina. I’ve used the work knife a lot too, and made a new sheath for it as my leather work improved. The folder is holding up great, but I’m really looking forward to doing one of my own design (this is a copy of a Case trapper pattern).

2) Here are some custom knives from my favorite makers. Right under my trapper is an even better one by , Followed by a well used gunstock in Cocobolo with an A2 blade I custom ordered from many years ago. Next is an incredible jigged titanium Zulu from the master and my most recent addition is the little paper micarta gunstock from who’s work is always super slick. These makers have been a big inspiration for me and their work sets the bar pretty high for quality.

3) Here are some of my favorite production knives. The large Inkosi Insingo by is hands down the best modern Ti frame lock I’ve had (and I tried quite a few). Expensive, but every detail is done so well that it still feels like a good value to me. is two of my favorite knife designers and the Ace Sonoma is a home run from them.
makes some awesome traditional knives, and the two-blade 74 is my favorite pattern of theirs. This one I re-covered in carbon fiber with a brass shield. If you’re lucky enough to get your hand on a GEC nowadays, it’s well worth it. Finally the Dragonfly has been one of my favorites for a long time, and this version with wood scales and San Mai blade is the pinnacle for me. Such a small knife, but gives such a secure grip that it feels solid enough to do just about any task. A great design that I hope they never change.

What are your favorites?

01/02/2022

I haven’t posted much this past year, as I haven’t done much plane or knife work of my own. But I have been very busy and accomplished some big life goals. The biggest was getting engaged and married to my favorite person, . We had a beautiful fun outdoor wedding and nice low key honeymoon in Acadia. I also left a pretty unfulfilling job at Hacker Craft to take a more interesting position (and better job) at in Albany. It’s no longer boat building (😱), but I’ll get to work on a wider variety of cool projects and materials. I was finally able to spend my little free time in my shop at , building some new work tables and upgrading my machinery. We are also about to close on our first home! We’re both excited to settle in and work on our little bit of land and build my dream shop. So it may be a little while before I get back into the swing of my personal projects, but in time I’ll be able to do it much better than ever (and get some cool boats going!). Stay tuned, and Happy New Year!

05/22/2021

Here’s the full set of Osage Orange spar planes all together. Even number diameters 2”-12”. They are getting a great workout shaping a couple full sets of spars right now, and working very well. Check out the link in my bio for a great video on the process of making a new 12” mast for the oyster sloop Christeen at The Waterfront Center in Oyster Bay, NY.

05/05/2021

Well it took me a while, but I finally finished the last two Osage spar planes. These were much more difficult because of the tighter radius and smaller inside space. I’ll have a complete group pic soon which will be very satisfying. I’ve had a lot going on besides these, including getting engaged to one of the best people I’ve ever known, !

03/16/2021

Some pics from the field, courtesy of shipwright Josh Herman down on Long Island. This is the old 12” plane, which I resharpened and lapped the bottom, taking a 12” mast from 16-sided to round. The only civilized way to finish a spar 🧐

03/07/2021

8” and 10” spar planes are done, 6” and 12” are sharpened and soles trued. These have to get shipped out tomorrow to be put to work right away, then the 4” and 2” will be shortly behind, just in time for the smaller spars of the job. A complete set picture will have to wait! Looking good even as a set of 4 though.

02/28/2021

I resurrected my old maker’s mark to match the two older planes, and my setup for stamping it without it slipping out of alignment or bouncing and getting a faint double stamp. Also got a bunch more shaping done today. There’s no functional reason these have to be straight sided at the base and coffin shaped at the top, I just like the way it brings together the elegant coffin shape with a nice straight channel on the sole. A bit of extra work,but worth it.

02/21/2021

A satisfying milestone is taking the first shavings 👌

02/20/2021

Drilling out the waste from the last two plane stocks made me realize just how much I needed a better drill press. Well I got a major upgrade today! This 15” Palmgren has a huge speed range for wood and metal, and a full 5” of spindle travel for those big blocks I like to use. I can’t believe I got by with the little 8” Delta for so long, courageous little thing did every knife I’ve made so far!

02/19/2021

Progress on the 10” and 8” spar planes. I just got the irons for the 4”and 2”, so those will be just behind these.

02/09/2021

Here’s a better look at the sole of the 6” spar plane, and some confusing layout geometry. To end up with a tight and uniform mouth after the blade and sole are shaped, some of the normal layout lines have to overlap. Took some head scratching the first time I did one.

Address

1 Westend Ave
Oyster Bay, NY
11771

Website

http://Bentleyplanes.com/

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