woodbloke
Established Member
I spent a very pleasant afternoon yesterday at Mike Huntley's place making a few shavings with some Japanese planes (kana):
Mike is shown planing an initial surface with a Clifi as the kana are set up as smoothers and not jointing planes.
I was there at Mike's annual BBQ but it was also an opportunity to have a look at the new 'shop and discuss all things tool orientated, particularly Japanese planes and saws.
We were trying out a collection of planes belonging to this chap (didn't get his name
)
...
...with some of my efforts shown below:
I didn't realize that all parts of a blacksmith forged Japanese plane blade are deliberately curved except the bevel and 10mm of the back which means that setting them up is a true work of art. Also, minute variations in the way it's set up make a huge difference to the performance, especially at competition level. Apparently, different planes are usually set up for different woods which makes life interesting. We were planing some WRC, pine and tulip wood yesterday with the tulip wood being by far the most pleasant to plane.
I digress. Mike has a limited quantity of his 'Huntley Oak Saws' for sale:
which is cross cut saw where the teeth have been set correctly by 'Z' saws (the makers) to cut joints in hardwood. Details of the saw are as follows:
pitch - 14 tpi
blade length - 265 mm
blade thickness - 0.6 mm
kerf - 0.78 mm
I tried one of these saws on some English Oak at length yesterday and although it's designated as a cross cut, it'll track effortlessly along the grain as well. One of these is now residing in my 'shop :-" :mrgreen: ...butter, hot and knife don't even come close. If you like Japanese saws...highly recommended and if you want one, contact Mike directly at [email protected] for the price.
Mike would also like to apologise to all those who've signed up for the email letter on Japanese tools. He's been snowed under with domestic family issues lately but hopes to get something out very shortly - Rob
Mike is shown planing an initial surface with a Clifi as the kana are set up as smoothers and not jointing planes.
I was there at Mike's annual BBQ but it was also an opportunity to have a look at the new 'shop and discuss all things tool orientated, particularly Japanese planes and saws.
We were trying out a collection of planes belonging to this chap (didn't get his name
)
...with some of my efforts shown below:
I didn't realize that all parts of a blacksmith forged Japanese plane blade are deliberately curved except the bevel and 10mm of the back which means that setting them up is a true work of art. Also, minute variations in the way it's set up make a huge difference to the performance, especially at competition level. Apparently, different planes are usually set up for different woods which makes life interesting. We were planing some WRC, pine and tulip wood yesterday with the tulip wood being by far the most pleasant to plane.
I digress. Mike has a limited quantity of his 'Huntley Oak Saws' for sale:
which is cross cut saw where the teeth have been set correctly by 'Z' saws (the makers) to cut joints in hardwood. Details of the saw are as follows:
pitch - 14 tpi
blade length - 265 mm
blade thickness - 0.6 mm
kerf - 0.78 mm
I tried one of these saws on some English Oak at length yesterday and although it's designated as a cross cut, it'll track effortlessly along the grain as well. One of these is now residing in my 'shop :-" :mrgreen: ...butter, hot and knife don't even come close. If you like Japanese saws...highly recommended and if you want one, contact Mike directly at [email protected] for the price.
Mike would also like to apologise to all those who've signed up for the email letter on Japanese tools. He's been snowed under with domestic family issues lately but hopes to get something out very shortly - Rob
