DeWalt Replacement Knives for DW733

Fresh knives are the cheapest tune-up you can give a thickness planer. After installing a new set of DW733 knives on my older DeWalt benchtop planer, I was reminded just how much cut quality, noise, and feed behavior depend on sharp steel. These are M2 high-speed steel knives with a single cutting edge, sized for the DW733 platform, and designed to be resharpened multiple times. I’ve run them through a mix of hard and soft woods over several weeks, and here’s how they fared.

Setup and installation

Swapping in the knives is straightforward and refreshingly quick. The machined locator holes mate with the planer’s setting jig, which means there’s no fiddly height adjustment or fussing with magnetic gauges. I still take a minute to clean the cutterhead and knife seats—any pitch or dust under the blade will throw off alignment—and I snug the screws down in a crisscross pattern to keep things even. From unplugging the planer to making the first test pass, it took me under 15 minutes.

One thing to note: these are single-edge knives. You can’t flip them over when they dull, so your options are to resharpen or replace. The quick-change design limits downtime, but having a second set on hand keeps a project moving if you nick a blade on hidden grit or a stray staple.

Build and design

The M2 laminated HSS is the star of the show. HSS has long been the sweet spot for benchtop planers—hard enough to hold an edge in domestic hardwoods, tough enough to survive the occasional knot, and still friendly to resharpen. Carbide would last longer in abrasive exotics or reclaimed lumber, but you lose the easy maintenance that makes these knives appealing to small shops and jobsite users.

Fit and finish are exactly what I expect for this platform: consistent machining, clean edges, and properly located holes that align without persuasion. At 320 mm length, they’re purpose-built for the DW733’s narrower head; don’t expect to repurpose them for a different model.

Performance in the cut

The immediate difference with new knives is the reduction in feed effort and the quality of the finish. On 8/4 hard maple, light passes produced a clean, nearly finish-ready surface with a subtle sheen across the board. Pine and fir planed with less fuzzing along the grain, and the knives handled isolated knots without visible bruising or compression around the knot boundary.

Tearout is always the real test. On sapele with reversing grain, I kept passes conservative and oriented the board for the calmer grain whenever possible. The result: a faint whisper of tearout in the worst spots, but nothing a card scraper couldn’t erase in a few strokes. That’s on par with what I expect from fresh HSS. If you routinely work curly maple or ribbon stripe mahogany, you’ll still want to plan for lighter cuts, a higher moisture content, or follow-up scraping.

Snipe control owes more to planer setup than knives, but sharp edges do help minimize the force needed to initiate a cut. With waxed infeed/outfeed tables and good support, I kept snipe to 1–2 thou at the leading edge, which sanded out immediately. Noise remained typical of a benchtop planer—still loud—but with fresh knives the cutterhead ran smoother and the pitch was less ragged, which tells me the edges were working efficiently.

Edge life and maintenance

Edge life will depend on what you feed the machine. Working a steady diet of maple, walnut, and construction SPF, I got several hundred board feet before I noticed faint lines from micro-nicks and a slight increase in push at the infeed. That’s a good run for HSS in a benchtop machine.

Because these knives are resharpenable, I make a point of touching them up rather than running them to exhaustion. A cautious pass on a water stone with a simple jig, staying with the factory bevel, brings back a crisp edge quickly. Keep the grind cool and even; despite the laminated construction, overheating any HSS knife invites trouble. After two full sharpenings and a couple of light hones, mine are still straight and seat perfectly. Expect diminishing returns with each resharpen as the edge recedes, but it’s a cost-effective way to stretch service life.

If you’re new to planer knife maintenance:
- Clean resin before sharpening—mineral spirits or a dedicated pitch remover works.
- Maintain the original bevel angle; don’t get creative.
- Hone both knives the same amount to keep balance.
- Store spares in a rust-inhibiting sleeve and protect the edge from dings.

Accuracy and alignment

The locator holes are more than a convenience—they help repeatable alignment from side to side and from knife to knife. After installation, I checked for parallel with a dial indicator across the bed and saw no discernible variation beyond a couple of tenths. That alignment shows up in the finish: no washboarding, no left-to-right ridges. If you do see lines, it’s usually a tiny nick; offsetting one knife a hair can stagger the marks, but with fixed locator holes that’s not really the system here. Instead, I just pull a couple of very light passes to let the fibers shear cleanly, or I sharpen.

Compatibility and constraints

These knives are designed specifically for the DW733 platform. They’re not interchangeable with DeWalt’s other popular benchtop planers, so match the length and mounting to your machine before ordering. The single-edge design is the main trade-off versus some reversible double-edged systems: you don’t get a “free flip,” but you do get a resharpenable blade with a robust cutting edge. For users who prefer to sharpen, that’s a win; if you want a quick flip-and-go workflow, plan on buying a second set.

Value

Considering edge life, cut quality, and the ability to resharpen multiple times, the overall cost of ownership is reasonable. You’re not paying a carbide premium, and you’re not locked into single-use disposables. Add in DeWalt’s standard warranty coverage—limited three-year warranty, one year of free service, and 90-day satisfaction—and the package feels well supported for what is, technically, a wear part.

Tips for best results

• Take lighter cuts in difficult grain; don’t try to hog off material with fresh edges, tempting as it is.
• Keep the bed and rollers clean and waxed to reduce snipe and improve feed.
• Use proper dust extraction; clear chips reduce recuts that dull edges sooner.
• Inspect boards for grit and embedded metal. A single staple will ruin your day.
• Rotate which edge of the board leads when batching to spread wear across the knives.

The bottom line

The DW733 knives deliver what I want from a benchtop planer blade: quick installation, consistent alignment, and a sharp M2 edge that leaves a clean surface across common domestic hardwoods and softwoods. They won’t prevent tearout in the worst grain, and the single-edge design means you’ll either sharpen or replace rather than flip, but the ability to resharpen multiple times more than offsets that in my shop.

Recommendation: I recommend these knives for DW733 owners who value a sharp, resharpenable HSS edge and a hassle-free install. They’re a straightforward upgrade that restores cut quality, keeps the planer running smoothly, and offers good long-term value. If your workflow depends on flipping double-edged disposable knives, or you exclusively mill abrasive exotics where carbide shines, look elsewhere. For most small shops and jobsite users working typical hardwoods and construction stock, these knives hit the mark.