Faithfull Tools?

[phil harold]

I have been looking for a convex spokeshave and found these
faithfulltools.com/p/FAISSTWIN/Spokeshave-Twin-Pack-Concave-and-Convex
they are available on ebay too..

are they any good or should I just save my money for a clifton...

[Patrick Chase]

I have been looking for a convex spokeshave and found these
faithfulltools.com/p/FAISSTWIN/Spokeshave-Twin-Pack-Concave-and-Convex
they are available on ebay too..

are they any good or should I just save my money for a clifton...

Those are almost certainly repainted/rebranded Kunz #50/#55 spokeshaves. You'll find a fair number of reviews if you search for those.

The price is pretty good relative to what we would pay for the same tools here in the US, and to what fine-tools asks in Germany. With that said they're not very well-regarded tools on the whole.

[george wilson]

Generally Kunz makes the junkiest tools have seen!

[Jim Koepke]

Generally Kunz makes the junkiest tools have seen!

Some might beg to differ, they might claim Kunz is good at making things that sort of look like a tool. They might make good movie props if they do not have to be used.

jtk

[John Schtrumpf]

Kunz does make some usable tools, my Kunz+ number 3:

[lowell holmes]

An old saying:

Buy an expensive tool and cry when you pay for it, buy a cheap tool and cry every time you use it.

[Bill Houghton]

Maybe better than the lesser-known brand, Unfaithfull tools...but if they're Kunz tools, spend your money on going to yard sales, instead.

[Stewie Simpson]

An old saying:

Buy an expensive tool and cry when you pay for it, buy a cheap tool and cry every time you use it.

There's also another old saying Lowell, "It's a poor craftsman that blames his tools".

[Patrick Chase]

Kunz does make some usable tools, my Kunz+ number 3:

The Kunz+ planes are very different from (and very much more expensive than) their older tool line we're talking about here. Those have indeed built up a decent reputation.

As always you get what you pay for. As somebody else pointed out you'd probably be better off in the used market than with the really cheap new stuff though.

[Jim Koepke]

There's also another old saying Lowell, "It's a poor craftsman that blames his tools".

A pair of very poorly made spokeshaves was given to me. My guess is not too many craftsmen would say kind words about them. A decent craftsman doesn't blame his tools because they would likely refuse to use an item that only looks like a tool.

jtk

[Stewie Simpson]

No Jim. A good craftsmen would no how to tune that tool to make it work to its optimum. A far cry from where we are now where that need is now left to the manufacturer because the user cant be bothered taking the time to acquire that skill.

[Jim Koepke]

No Jim. A good craftsmen would no how to tune that tool to make it work to its optimum. A far cry from where we are now where that need is now left to the manufacturer because the user cant be bothered taking the time to acquire that skill.

Stewie,

Many of my posts have the intention of encouraging folks to put some time into fettling vintage tools.

Some tools are beyond fettling for those of us who do not have a machine shop. Some are so bad they do not posses the ability to be transformed even by the most well equipped shops.

Some tools may actually serve a better purpose by being melted for scrap.

A good craftsperson doesn't blame their tools because a good craftsperson won't have a tool that is going to let them down.

jtk

[Patrick Chase]

Many of my posts have the intention of encouraging folks to put some time into fettling vintage tools.

Some tools are beyond fettling for those of us who do not have a machine shop. Some are so bad they do not posses the ability to be transformed even by the most well equipped shops.

I actually saw a magazine article (in FWW maybe?) that suggested fixing the Kunz shaves by moulding a platform of epoxy between the existing bed and the iron. It's amazing what lengths people will sometimes go to to salvage a disastrous tool like that.

Not shooting the debate with a 10 foot pole, save to say that accusing you of "giving up on" tools is risible.

[steven c newman]

Soooo...somewhere on the plane.....there is a Kunz trade mark? Might have been made in India, for all one can guesstimate , or assume?

[Stewie Simpson]

Patrick; got to admit I had to do a search on the meaning of risible.

Stewie;

[lowell holmes]

I would contact Robin Lee if I needed a new spoke shave.

My shop is still upside down. I think I will go look for my shaves . . . . . . .............

[Graham Haydon]

Hi Phil, I own some Faithfull tools. Their blue handled chisels are good, basic tools. Steel in them is harder than the typically very soft contractor chisels. Also have a 778 rebate plane and it works well, a clone of the Record, however the cutting iron was so soft I had to replace that (now I would ask advice and see if I could improve it before swapping it out). A Ray Illes iron dropped straight in (high-lighting it's close relationship to a Record). I have used their #4 plane and it was fine, however I saw a #7 and the sole was very concave! Their sole and frog also seemed clones of very late Records, not such a good thing.
If have seen that pair for sale and have been tempted but have not had a project to force my hand. My gut says I could get them to work well, and if I was not happy I could send them back.

[steven c newman]

So much for that "KUNZ" hysteria.....might be a UK made knock-off of Record planes? I remember Paul Sellers may have done a blog about those type of planes a while back....

[Graham Haydon]

As far as I know the stuff is made in India. For about 10% more attention to detail they would be quite decent budget options.

[phil harold]

Hi Phil, I own some Faithfull tools. Their blue handled chisels are good, basic tools. Steel in them is harder than the typically very soft contractor chisels. Also have a 778 rebate plane and it works well, a clone of the Record, however the cutting iron was so soft I had to replace that (now I would ask advice and see if I could improve it before swapping it out). A Ray Illes iron dropped straight in (high-lighting it's close relationship to a Record). I have used their #4 plane and it was fine, however I saw a #7 and the sole was very concave! Their sole and frog also seemed clones of very late Records, not such a good thing.
If have seen that pair for sale and have been tempted but have not had a project to force my hand. My gut says I could get them to work well, and if I was not happy I could send them back.

Why Thank You Graham!

Despite all the Naysayers I spent 32 dollars anyhow.
Will give you my Opinion after I get them and use them for a bit.

[Derek Cohen]

That is probably the way to go, Phil. With hand tools by the likes of Kunz and Faithful, the issue is their variable reliability - it is not the design, per se, since the design is by Stanley. You may get one that works out of the box - many years ago I had a Kunz #80 scraper plane, and it was better than the Stanley original - on the other hand, you may get a boat anchor that requires a good deal of tuning. As with the premium planes, part of the cost goes into material and machining, and part goes into quality control. It seems to me that these cheap brands are counting on some planes working as intended, and others returning those they do not work ... that the savings in (absent) quality control make the tool cost effective to manufacture and sell at a low price.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

It seems to me that these cheap brands are counting on some planes working as intended, and others returning those they do not work ... that the savings in (absent) quality control make the tool cost effective to manufacture and sell at a low price.

At times it seems some of them are counting on people buying it, not getting it to work and setting it on a shelf in the garage.

It is sad if someone wanting to do some woodworking buys one and gives up figuring it is their fault the tool will not do as expected. This even happens with the premium tools at times. Sometimes it might be a problem with the tool and at times it is a new owner not knowing how to adjust or use a tool. We have had a few of each over the years.

This is one of the great values of forums such as this. In many cases users have been helped figure where the problem may be.

jtk

[Patrick Chase]

So much for that "KUNZ" hysteria.....might be a UK made knock-off of Record planes? I remember Paul Sellers may have done a blog about those type of planes a while back....

Look pictures of the Faithfull and Kunz shaves side by side. They are indistinguishable in all but color, including cosmetic details like the radii of the blade tops, handle profiles, etc. These are simple objective observations, not "hysteria". Those sorts of similarities don't happen by accident. These are closely related tools in one manner or another.

Of course it's possible that the "relationship" is that the underlying Indian manufacturer of the Faithfull shaves simply ripped off the Kunz designs. They're optimized for low manufacturing cost to begin with, so they wouldn't be bad choices for that sort of thing.

[steven c newman]

Usual....didn't read a thing from the OP.....These are knock-offs of RECORD made planes. The only one that seems to think they are related to Kunz..is ...you.

Of course, it could be that Kunz is a knock-off of RECORD as well.....but that is not the question the OP had....

[Karl Andersson]

Maybe some relatives of Marianne Faithfull; they seem to have had money. Their tool catalog is huge, and everything I looked at was their brand so they don't specialize in any one area (might be a warning of lower quality, but you won't know until you find a good reviewer).

They sell some rebate and block plane replacement blades, so if the steel is good and you can figure out which known brand (if any) they are based on, it could be a source of blades at least.

I'm sure, apart from Graham, there have to be plenty of UK users who have reviewed these tools; there are just so many of them they look more like a big box store and it might be that level of quality.