Looking for a small spokeshave

[Trevor Wentzel]

Hi,
I was hoping someone could direct me to a spokeshave smaller than the 151, but perhaps twice the size of the Lee Valley mini spokeshave.
I find the mini outstanding, and it is in general use in my shop.
I do wish lee valley would sell replacement handles for the mini, however.
Is there a flat bottom spokeshave of this size? Maybe 6 inch total?

[Jack Frederick]

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/products/1-sp-f-curved-small-spokeshave-presto?path=spokeshaves&node=4091

6 3/4”, I like mine. Works great.

[Trevor Wentzel]

That looks very nice, thanks Jack.
Living in Canada, I don't always think of Lie Nielsen. Less so with the back orders.
I had almost talked myself into making one.

[chuck van dyck]

I recently got a sweet little wooden round bottom shave off the bay for $20. Its a pretty fine little tool. If you’re up to sharpening the old style blade I’d look for one there.

[Trevor Wentzel]

Good idea, I've been looking at old woodies too. Lee valley sells a round bottom one, but I've never used one and don't know if I'd like it.
Anyone use one on the regular?
The LV is also half the price of the LN.
Too bad LV doesn't make the cast round shave in flat bottom too.

[Jim Koepke]

When the LV cast round bottom shave first came out the price was too good for me to resist. It was released as a promotion to encourage people to try the new PMv-11 blades.

Mine needed a little work with a file to get the blade to seat well. The underside of the casting on the handles was smoothed a bit more to feel better in my hands.

It took a little time to get used to working with it, but it is a fine little shave. It is best used for light shaving, not hogging off thick shavings.

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

HNT Gordon make small wooden spokeshaves of the highest quality.

https://hntgordon.com.au/collections/spoke-shaves

If they do not make a flat small one, as Terry if he will do one for you.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Trevor Wentzel]

Mine needed a little work with a file to get the blade to seat well.
jtk

I wonder if this issue has been solved on the ones being sold today? Has anyone purchased one recently? I see they are on back order.

[Dave Beauchesne]

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/products/1-sp-f-curved-small-spokeshave-presto?path=spokeshaves&node=4091

6 3/4”, I like mine. Works great.

+1 on the LN spokeshave - outstanding.

Dave B

[Rob Luter]

In addition to the Boggs shaves from LN, I have the small shaves from LV and LN. Both are nice. The LN Version is flat and the LV is the rounded version. I selected the LV instead of the LN rounded version because it has a tighter radius than the rounded LN. Both work well. The rounded versions are a little fussy until you get used to setting them but otherwise do exactly what they're supposed to.

[Jim Koepke]

I wonder if this issue has been solved on the ones being sold today? Has anyone purchased one recently? I see they are on back order.

I have no idea about the current casting or improvements. Mine was purchased very early in this tools production. It is quite imaginable they have improved the casting process over time.

From the description at > https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/spokeshaves/71042-cast-round-spokeshave?item=15P1701


Tool buffs will note that the blade bed is not machined after casting – a feature that is faithful to the original and does not affect performance.

To me this says the cast finish is sufficient.

If an owner wants a smooth bed they will have to do a little work on it. Mine didn't take much time with an old auger file and a little care. It was worth it. If another was needed for my shop or to give as a gift, this one would possibly be purchased again.

Another option may be ebay. There often are pattern maker's spokeshaves and other spokeshaves listed. A Stanley #64 might suit your needs. If the handles are too long they could be shortened to suite your needs.

jtk

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I have many LN tools, including the Boggs flat & concave spokeshaves. They are superb. I was going to purchase the small LN bronze flat and curved spokeshaves to replace my Stanley 63 & 64 because the blades were at the end of their useable lives at an outlay of over $300. At the time those 2 spokeshaves were unavailable at LN so instead I purchased a replacement blade from Ron Hock. Initially the blade did not fit either shave properly, but Ron made it right at no further cost to me. The performance difference is remarkable and because the blade is interchangeable between the 2 Stanley spokeshaves, I effectively got 2 blades for the price of one. And saved more than $250 to spend on other LN tools.

Btw, a while ago I purchased the HNT Gordon small curved spokeshave and was not impressed. The blade is very small and only 1/16” thick; I imagine it would cause nightmares come sharpening time. The machine marks on the brass parts were inexcusable for a tool of this price level. Nevertheless, after trying and trying to get it to cut properly (I never got the hang of it), I returned it.

I subsequently purchased Jason Lonon’s push/pull shave. It’s a combination small drawknife and spokeshave and has become one of my most used tools. A friend of mine owns a couple of wooden spokeshaves from Caleb James and absolutely loves them. I’ve tried them and they are wonderful tools. Pricey and limited availability, but something to consider if you go the wooden spokeshave route.

[Trevor Wentzel]

Wow, thanks for pointing me to the Jason London push/pull shave. Very cool. The Caleb James shaves, along with the rest of his tools look amazing also.
Great looking tools. Interesting to see the apple and pear wood used in planes. Thanks.
I think I'm gonna try out the LV round bottom when its back in stock, and maybe try to make a mini shave too.

[John Keeton]

I believe it is Jason Lonon instead of London. His push/pull shave (shown below) actually seems to be an adaptation of the "modeler" drawknives that were manufactured and sold by most of the major drawknife manufacturers in the late 19th century. It is hard to tell from Jason's website pics (just 2 of them), but other than the length of the handles it appears the configuration is the same. Nearly all of these vintage knives have 4" blades - Jason's is 3". This particular pic is a screenshot from one presently on eBay. It is a C. E. Jennings - one of the better makers. Most of these go for around $35-50 and the metal in most all of them will be excellent. I have owned several C. E. Jennings knives and their metallurgy was top notch!

Just bringing this up as a possible alternative if someone wants to try this sort of approach with less outlay than $125, plus Jason's is sold out. I am sure Jason's work is excellent. He has an excellent reputation.

[Trevor Wentzel]

I have owned several C. E. Jennings knives and their metallurgy was top notch!


Thanks for the suggestion, the C.E Jennings drawknives look like the Veritas Carvers drawknife.

[Mark Gibney]

A number of years back I bought a really cheap new wood body spokeshave. I enjoy using it - I use it to remove a lot of material before I take out the Boggs shave. The shavings fly out of it and it never gets clogged.
Here's a screenshot
491003
I'm not in my shop, but I think the blade might be around 1" wide.
You can trim the handles if you want to make it shorter. $9 on Amazon! Twice what I paid for it.
It's called a Gzyuuli Manual Woodworking Bird Planer Spokeshave Carpenter Slotted Edge Trimming Rosewood Round Tool - that's less than a dollar a word!

[Jim Koepke]

Someone currently has four spokeshave listed in the SMC Classifieds.

This is just one of the things that makes the $6 contribution worth it.

jtk