First Woody Plane experience - how to hold it?

[Tri Hoang]

Falling fast down the slope, I decided to try out a wooden plane. It's a simple design, made of white oak. The blade is 1/8" thick. Got it of the bay for $32.

After honing the blade, I was in for a great surprise. The plane is light, very light compared to my Veritas LA jack. With a little candle wax, it's almost gliding on wood.

I still have problem holding when face planing. How should one hold a small wooden plane when face planing?

[Rob Grubbs]

Interesting title.

[Casey Gooding]

Generally, however is most comfortable and gets the job done.

[Richard Magbanua]

w-w-wait, what are we talking about here?

um, looks like you got a Japanese-style plane. Usually they are meant to be pulled toward you with your middle/ring fingers at the ends pulling and your thumbs or palms pressing down. I have some that are similar but are called Taiwanese-style and I use them either way. They work well but I still can't get a comfortable grip on them though.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Not sure of the make. Looks like a user made job that was not shaped very well for user comfort as you seem to have experienced. It also looks based on a Japanese style pull plane since the body is not very tall. It looks like a fairly small plane so I would think it would be held more like a block plane, i.e. single handed. It doesn't look like a plane intended for face planing i.e. smoothing but it's difficult to tell the actual size of the plane from the pic. If it is indeed shaped like a Japanese smoother then the most comfortable way to hold it would likely be to pull it as this is how Japanese planes are designed to be used. Traditional Western wooden smoothers are much taller (like 3" tall) and shaped with with a nice curve at the heel that settles right into the palm of your hand, like this one.
C&W Smoother.jpg

You hold a traditional Western wooden smoother like this (not my pic; "borrowed" from another site)
Holding Wooden Smoother.jpg

Yours LOOKS more like a Japanese style plane (but it's not) so you might try pulling it. Might be more comfortable.

[David Keller NC]

Tri - There was a fairly recent "The Woodwright's Shop" episode where Roy visited the shop of an American woodworker that had apprenticed with a Japanese master - all he used were Japanese wooden planes, and there's a fair number of shots of him planing a piece of cherry by pulling the plane across it. You can view the video on the Woodwright's Shop site, which might give you an example to follow:

(It's episode 2608)

http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/s...son_video.html

[Justin Green]

Interesting title.

Between this and the Check Out My Legs thread...

[george wilson]

When tourists sometimes asked me why the Japanese pull their tools,I would tell them because gravity works backwards on the other side of the World!!

[Tri Hoang]

I tried pulling it but it's definitely not very comfortable. I think I'll just use it as a block plane as Robert said.

Blade adjustments take a while to get used to...but after an hour, I think I got it. It takes a combination of lever cap pressure, light taps on blade/sole...very enjoyable!

After I spent sometime improving my sharpening skills, all of my planes suddenly work wonderfully...even the crappy ones. No wonder may threads in the forum cited sharpening as the #1 skill to master to enjoy hand tools. I certainly am glad that I took the time to learn the basics. I still have a long way to go but I see the light...it's no longer a mystery.

[Tri Hoang]

David...thanks for the video link. It's very interesting.