http://www.woodreview.com.au 75father. Then, one hot summer night,
Ron is yet again lying awake, stewing
on what he is going to do. He wakes
me up, sits bolt upright, and says
“I’m going to be a knifemaker.” “Of
course”, I say to Ron, “and I’ll write
the next great American novel”, and
turn over to go back to sleep.’
Forward in time again, one of the
instructors at Krenov’s school heard
about ‘a knifemaker’ and then went to
see Ron to ask about supplying blades
for James Krenov’s plane making
classes. Ron said, ‘Oh leave me alone,
I’m busy going broke making knives’,
but was later convinced that it could
be worth trying.
The first batch of blades was
tentatively received, however the
second batch, made in a different
alloy, was so successful that according
to Ron, the basic specs have not
changed in 35 years*.
At a time when James Krenov was
plagued by and refused requests to
endorse all kinds of products, Hock
blades were something he voluntarily
promoted to others because they
‘closed the circle for him’. ‘We had
an incredible synergy’, said Ron. ‘I
had this great relationship with Jim
Krenov and we were good friends.’In those early days when specialty
products for fine woodworking were
being developed, the growing reputation
of Hock Tools’ line of replacement
blades made them an established
mainstay. The range now includes
over 100 different products and the
market for them continues to grow.Ron is an acknowledged expert in
metallurgy and sharpening of tool
steel. In The Perfect Edge (2009),
he describes the characteristics of
various steels and their suitability
as tooling for woodworking. Ron’s
knowledge is largely self taught,
learned while working in the family
sheetmetal business, and through
his own endeavours as a sculptor
and knifemaker. ‘I started making
knives from sawblade stock from
the lumbermill. And then I was just
learning it by doing it. And reading a
lot of books.’‘Providing the answer to the question,
‘Which tool steel should I get: O1 or
A2?’ is something Ron has considered
putting on his answering machine. So
I risked asking him one more time...‘A2 holds its edge longer, that’s its
claim to fame as a woodworking
blade. O1 is more like grandpa’s blade
that everyone reveres. The “O” stands
for oil hardening, which means it was
quenched in oil when it was hardened
during the heat treating process.
“A” stands for air, or air quenching,
you can just take it out of the high
temperature oven and it will harden
fully in still air.’With only two employees, Ron and
Linda’s business has remained a small
scale enterprise. ‘One of the fun parts
about being the lone entrepreneur
is that I get to do all the stuff that I
consider to be fun, and I still do most
of the customer support...’, said Ron,
noting that most people are surprised
when, all jokes about answering
machines aside, he’s often the one to
pick up the phone.* With the retirement of his machinist,
production of some Hock blades now takes
place in France. These blades have a shinier
appearance and are of an even higher quality.For more information see http://www.hocktools.comHock Tools are available in Australia from
http://www.woodworksupplies.com.auMain: Ron Hock, founder of Hock Tools and author of
The Perfect Edge. Photographed at Woodworking in
America, September 2016.
Left: Knives and plane blades made by Hock Tools.
Below: ‘Krenov style’ handplanes with Hock blades.
The central plane was made by James Krenov.FEATURE