I am intrigued about using a Japanese plane. Nothing special. Nothing extraordinarily expensive. Just one to make glue joints and to do some smoothing.
What Japanese would you recommend?
[OP]
Contributor
Is a Japanese plane In my future?
I am intrigued about using a Japanese plane. Nothing special. Nothing extraordinarily expensive. Just one to make glue joints and to do some smoothing.
What Japanese would you recommend?
Member
Tony,Originally Posted by Tony Zona
I'm not trying to dissuade you but the learning curve for Japanese planes can be pretty steep. Most Japanese makers expect their customers to be knowledgeable and do not send a ready to use plane but a Japanese plane kit for you to put together and finish the way you want it. That can sometime be a little difficult if you do not have a clue how to put it together or how you want the plane to work.
If you are just looking to use a wood stock plane get something like an ECE, they are cheap and for the most part ready to use out of the box. If you go down the Japanese plane road find someone you trust to lead.
ken
Contributor
Having been down this road over the last year, I would -highly- recommend not going with a cheap kanna... They are difficult to set up properly (although it can be done...) and the blade will most likely be inferior... In my experience, anything under $200 falls into that category... you can get one off of EBay (if you get -very- lucky) that has a decent blade, but the kanna will most likely be in poor condition... Better to go with a trusted source and get a good one to start with and -then- go down the rabbit hole with fixing others up... I bought 4 different ones (recommended less expensive brands...) that now sit in a box pretty much unused other than for rough planing (think western jack plane...) Stan (http://covingtonandsons.com) is great to deal with and will point you in the right direction and his site has a huge amount of info on why to go this route... The great thing about a good blade and kanna is when they are well done, there is nothing like using them... amazing tools... and his kanna come (virtually) ready to use out of the box with minimal tuning necessary (other than some fine tuning needed due to movement in the kanna that is climate related...)
Hope this helps... glad to provide more info if you are interested...
JH
[OP]
Contributor
Thanks, guys. I appreciate your advice.
Member
+1 on Ken's and Jeffrey's advice, They're going to need to be tuned up and it can be quite a thing to do so. Also cheap = bad experience. One plane I would recommend is the Tsunesaburo Maboroshi 55mm plane available at Woodcraft. Tsunesaburo is known maker of quality planes. The Maboroshi blade it comes with does not need to be tapped out as you wear out the hollow on the blade after repeated sharpenings. I have the 70mm and it's real nice. I've read were it's recommended to start out with a 55mm plane to get your feet wet with Japanese planes. Check out some of the videos on YT to see what it takes to get them up and running. It may, or may not be, your cup of tea.
Contributor
If you want wood planes as opposed to specifically Japanese, look at HNT Gordon and Steve Voight
Member
Check your PM.
Contributor
I went with the Woodcraft Kanehide plane which was cheap ($50) and used the book "Japanese Woodworking Tools" to learn how to properly set it up. It didn't take long to sharpen and set up, and I really love how it works. I have Lie-Nielsen and Veritas planes, and it is at least as pleasurable and accurate to use. The blade has stayed sharp, too, but I can't really compare it to the LN or LV since I haven't really used it for the same sorts of work. I know there are much better ones out there, but I followed the book's advise about starting with lower end Japanese tools and learning them before moving up. I did the same thing with chisels, and definitely made some mistakes sharpening them that I really, really would not want to replicate on finer chisels.
Contributor
Toshio Odate's book?
(Amazon's search is promiscuous and matches several books with that phrase in the title, though his is the only exact match.)
Contributor
Yes, sorry for not including it! It's a good read.
Member
i find then to excel on small parts, mostly for smoothing. Most European hardwood could be tough on the edges. Be careful. I have never seen something comparable to a #7 jointer.
a delight when used as smoother.
Contributor
This is probably an odd statement, but I have some elbow joint pain from time to time, and switching from a push stroke with a western plane to a pull stroke with an eastern plane really helps.
Contributor
It's been on my list forever, but I haven't gotten around to picking it up. Thanks for the recommendation & reminder.
Contributor
Not as odd as you might think. A lot of my work is done with alternate methods due to old injuries and the inconvenience of aging.
That is one reason for my preference toward socket chisels. It is easy to replace the handles. My handles have a few features that make them easier to use with an old injury to my hand.
One of the aspects of Japanese planes/woodworking that appeals to me was seen in a video. The person had a box of small specialty planes for different work. To me it seems with a wooden body, any woodworker can make a plane to their own liking for their particular needs.
Is there something about making a kana to make it more difficult than making a western style plane?
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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