Carbide Super Scraper Review

The SS1 Super Scraper, made in the USA by Innovative Tools International, is a multi-purpose carbide-edge scraping tool. Our friends at Carbide Processors, who supplies the carbide part of these scrapers, sent along a sample for us to test out.

What Can it Do?

Well, it’s a scraper, so… it scrapes. I like to think of it more as a super sharp and long-lasting material removal tool.

It can be used to remove rust, paint, varnish, glue, metal buildup, concrete, barnacles, and a wide range of materials from various hard surfaces. It is also well suited for tuning up precision machinery and equipment.

In testing I mainly used the carbide Super Scraper to ease wood corners and edges, and to debur plastic and aluminum materials. Generally, it worked equally well on flat and curved surfaces.

The Carbide Edge

The Super Scraper features a 1-1/4″ double-sided tungsten carbide blade that is brazed to a steel blade. The carbide edge has an average thickness of 0.140″, or about 9/64″, and its exact width is measured to be 1.2675″. (I used Mitutoyo digital calipers with ±0.001″ accuracy.

All of the working edges are sharp and well defined, and the faces are ground or polished flat.

One of the side square surfaces shows tiny saw or tooling marks, but I can’t see any way how this would affect the tool’s intended usage or performance. The leading edge is still as straight and sharp as I would expect it to be.

After using the scraper on wood, plastic, and aluminum surfaces, I have yet to see any evidence of wear. I removed some surface rust on a piece of scrap steel sheet, but didn’t do anything extremely demanding with the scraper yet.

I have no doubts that the carbide scraping edges will last quite a while before they need to be resharpened. Speaking of which, Innovative Tools International will resharpen Super Scrapers free of charge, although you’ll probably have to pay a few bucks to ship the tool to them.

The carbide is said to be ultra micro-grained, which should provide for high strength and toughness. This should also help provide for a straighter and flatter grind.

Wood Handle

The wood handle is designed so that you can flip the scraper over to use either side. The grip is fairly comfortable, secure, and easy on the hands. It is nicely shaped and varnished with a non-slippery clearcoat.

The 1/8″ steel blade itself is permanently riveted to the handle and does not budge or wobble in the least bit. It is worth noting that the blade is nickel and chrome plated for greater corrosion resistance and durability.

Conclusion

The Super Scraper works quite well, and is definitely leaps and bounds more versatile than steel scraper blades. It is rigid, sharp, the edges are square, and the scraper is quite comfortable to use.

Woodworkers especially will benefit from the Super Scraper’s ability to cleanly clear dried glue from around joints and seams. You have to be careful not to dig into the wood by accident, but the same amount of care should be used with other carving and scraping tools.

For dedicated woodworking glue removal use, I actually prefer the Benchcrafted Skraper, which is very similar to the Super Scraper but with an offset working angle. For general use, I find the Super Scraper to be effective and somewhat easier to control.

Actually, the Super Scraper and Skraper are so alike that I bet they are both made at the same factory.

I can very comfortably recommend the Super Scraper. It is well designed and well made. At $23-26, it’s affordably priced, especially for a USA-made tool.

You would think that a carbide scraping tool made with carbide supplied by a company called Carbide Processors would be top-notch. I am happy to say that the Super Scraper does not disappoint.

Buy Now(via Carbide Processors)

There is also a larger model, the SS2, which has a 2″ blade, for $33-37. I think the 1-1/4″ version is more versatile, unless you have very big scraping jobs coming up.

Buy Now(2″ version via Carbide Processors)

One final note – this is NOT meant to be used as a windshield ice scraper. The Super Scraper is sharp and rigid enough where it will scratch or scraper the glass.

Thank you to Carbide Processors for providing the review sample unconditionally. Review samples are typically given away, donated, or retained for benchmark and comparison purposes.