DeWalt 13" Disposable, Reversible Thickness Planer Knives

Why I keep a pack of DeWalt 13-inch knives on the shelf

Sharp knives turn a planer from a loud lumber mover into a finish-making machine. After a handful of months running stock through my 13-inch DeWalt, I’ve settled on the DeWalt 13-inch knives as my default consumable. They’re not glamorous, and they’re not cheap, but they’re predictable: quick to install, genuinely sharp out of the box, and consistent enough that I can trust the surface they leave when I’m trying to bring a project in on schedule.

Setup and installation

Swapping all three knives is straightforward, even mid-project. I unplug the planer, retract the cutterhead to give myself room, pop the top, and follow the usual routine: remove the chip hood, rotate to the first knife, back off the gib screws, and lift the used knife. The machined locator holes in these knives really do take the fussy part out of the changeover. They sit down onto the cutterhead’s pins and land exactly where they should—no shim stock, no dial indicators, no chasing a high corner. I give the pockets a quick clean to remove compacted dust, drop in the new knife with the right orientation, snug the screws, and move to the next one.

On average, a flip takes me 10–15 minutes at a comfortable pace, including the time to wipe the bed and wax it. That matters when a knife picks up a nick halfway through milling parts; I can flip to a fresh edge, be back to work, and keep a glue-up on track. There’s no special jig required and no learning curve beyond the first change.

Cutting performance

Fresh edges on the DeWalt knives leave a surprisingly refined surface for a lunchbox planer. On straight-grained softwoods and domestic hardwoods (pine, poplar, cherry), the finish off the slower feed speed is good enough that I’m sanding with 180 grit to erase the faint machine pattern and move on. Across the width, the three-knife setup stays in step; I don’t see knife-to-knife height variations leaving chatter marks or stripes, which is something I’ve fought with on some off-brand sets.

Tear-out is the usual wildcard. These are straight knives, so no blade is going to completely tame unruly figure by itself. On curly maple and other reversing grain, I get the best results by taking light cuts—1/64 in. or less—slowing the feed, and paying attention to grain orientation. With a fresh edge, the knives do as well as any M2 high-speed steel knife I’ve used in this class. When I push depth of cut or try to rush stock through at the faster feed speed on tricky grain, I’ll see tear-out start to show. That’s not a knock on these knives; it’s a function of geometry and species.

One place these knives have earned my confidence is in avoiding random micro-nicking when they’re new. I still inspect and clean boards religiously, but fresh DeWalt edges haven’t peppered surfaces with mystery scratches in my shop. That speaks to consistent heat treatment and grinding—edges feel crisp and even along the full length, and the finish bears that out.

Edge life and durability

These are M2 laminated tool steel, ground and vacuum-heat treated. In practice, that translates to solid edge retention for high-speed steel and good resistance to the minor nicks that show up with everyday shop use. On clean, kiln-dried softwoods and mid-density hardwoods, I can run a fair amount of material before I notice the surface losing its sheen and the planer sound changing from a clean slicing hum to a slightly harsher note. On abrasive or very hard woods like hickory and hard maple, the edge life shortens. That’s the nature of HSS—dense, silica-laden, or knotty stock will dull it faster than you’d like.

If a chip or embedded grit nicks the edge, you’ll see a faint raised line down the board. Because these knives index to fixed locator holes, there’s no practical lateral shift to bury a nick. The realistic options are:
- Flip to the unused edge (fastest and most effective).
- Take a light cleanup pass after glue-up to erase a minimal ridge.
- If the nick is tiny, sometimes a fresh pass with a very light cut will reduce the line, but it won’t disappear until you expose a new edge.

Each knife has two edges, so you effectively get two lifetimes per set. They’re “disposable” by design. Could you hone them? You can touch up a small burr with a stone in a pinch, but repeated sharpening risks altering thickness or the locator geometry, which undermines the entire point of quick, accurate indexing. I treat them as reversible, not serviceable.

Consistency and alignment

The indexing system is the unsung feature here. Because the knives are drilled to align with the cutterhead, all three land at the same height without fuss. That consistency pays off in two ways:
- Ridges at the seams between knives are minimal when the edges are fresh.
- There’s no need to spend extra time setting knives individually and hoping they don’t shift as you tighten gibs.

I’ve measured cut quality across the width after installs and flips, and it remains even. That kind of reliability is what I’m buying when I choose these over a bargain pack.

Maintenance matters

No knife will stay keen if it’s chewing dirt. I mill rough lumber, so my routine is simple:
- Metal detect every board. Pull staples, nails, and fencing wire remnants.
- Knock off heavy grit with a brush or a quick pass at the jointer if needed.
- Keep the planer bed clean and waxed so the stock rides smoothly with minimal pressure.
- Take smaller bites instead of hogging off large depths; lighter cuts are kinder to the edge and the machine.

Following that, these knives last long enough to make sense financially. Skip those steps and you’ll burn through edges fast, no matter what you install.

Value and alternatives

There are cheaper blades on the market and more durable options, too. Carbide-tipped or a helical cutterhead with carbide inserts will outlast HSS by a wide margin, especially on abrasive species or reclaimed lumber. But carbide comes with either a much higher up-front cost (helical head retrofit) or tradeoffs in compatibility. For a 13-inch lunchbox planer in a small shop or jobsite setting, the DeWalt 13-inch knives strike a sensible balance: known fit, fast changeovers, predictable results.

Could you save money with third-party HSS knives? Sometimes. My experience has been mixed. I’ve had aftermarket sets where one knife was a hair proud, leaving telltale lines, or where the edge didn’t last as long as advertised. The premium for the DeWalt set buys me time and predictability—two things I value more than the few dollars saved per changeover.

What I’d change

Two things sit on my wish list:
- A tiny built-in camber would help hide track lines on wide panels. As-is, these are dead straight, which is fine for most work but can leave faint tracks when an edge begins to tire.
- A slotted locator pattern to allow a half-millimeter lateral shift would let users bury a small nick without flipping. The fixed holes make alignment foolproof, but they remove that trick from the bag.

Neither is a deal-breaker, but they’d stretch the usefulness of each edge.

Who they’re for

• Great fit: Owners of DeWalt’s 13-inch planer who want OEM fit and finish, hobbyists and contractors who change knives a few times a year, and anyone prioritizing fast, accurate swaps and a clean surface on typical shop species.
• Think twice: If you routinely plane very hard, abrasive woods, or you process a lot of reclaimed material, HSS disposables will feel like a consumable tax. In that case, budget for carbide solutions—either carbide replacement knives (where available) or a helical head retrofit—to lower your long-term cost per board foot.

Recommendation

I recommend the DeWalt 13-inch knives for most users of DeWalt’s 13-inch planer. They install quickly and accurately, cut cleanly when fresh, and the double-edged design gives you a predictable second life with a simple flip. In everyday cabinet and furniture work with clean stock, they deliver the kind of finish and reliability that keeps a small shop moving. If your workflow leans heavily on abrasive hardwoods or reclaimed lumber, consider stepping up to carbide; otherwise, these knives are a dependable, time-saving choice that justify their place in the drawer.