Hand router plane...

[pe2dave]

Youtube review, Bisch basch bosh if you know him.
Very tempted...

 

[Not-Entirely-Useless]

Youtube review, Bisch basch bosh if you know him.
Very tempted...

I got one of these a while ago. Very well made and easy to use with a little care. Very good value, I think, compared to the quality competition

 

[RobNichols]

The Hongdui plane looks very nice, but it is just a standard router plane with a nice depth stop and height adjuster.

IMO This looks much more interesting:



That's the Woodpecker version. However there looks to be a very similar Blue Spruce Toolworks plane entering the market too:



More expensive tool, but something a little different to the standard. They look to be modelled on the old Preston design rather than the more standard Stanley.

 

[Not-Entirely-Useless]

The Hongdui plane looks very nice, but it is just a standard router plane with a nice depth stop and height adjuster.

IMO This looks much more interesting:



That's the Woodpecker version. However there looks to be a very similar Blue Spruce Toolworks plane entering the market too:



More expensive tool, but something a little different to the standard. They look to be modelled on the old Preston design rather than the more standard Stanley.

They’ll be good, but they’re about twice the price of the Hongdui/KM.

 

[pe2dave]

They’ll be good, but they’re about twice the price of the Hongdui/KM.

Get what you pay for perhaps?

 

[RobNichols]

Blue Spruce version is currently $230 ($270 RRP) on their site. Woodpeck looks to be the same price. Hongdui is $140 ($300 RRP). So more expensive but not twice the price. As @pe2dave says - you get what you pay for. TBH I think $230 is a good price. It's comparable to the Veritas large router.

As I see it the cost problem at the moment is that no one seems to be selling them this side of the pond - so the shipping cost is likely to bump up the cost significantly.

I'd also add, I think the Hongdui is a good buy. If I wanted a Stanley style router it would be at the top of my list.

But I have two Stanley stype planes already. What I like about the Blue Spruce/Woodpecker ones is the versatility. The wide base and facility to hang the cutter off the edge at different orientations.

The Hongdui is good - I just don't think it is as innovative as the Blue Spuce / Woodpecker plane (though even that looks to have roots in the Preston design.

 

[Not-Entirely-Useless]

Get what you pay for perhaps?

Possibly, but they’re Hongdui is extremely well made from good quality materials, so you’d want to know what it is that would merit the extea

 

[pe2dave]

Possibly, but they’re Hongdui is extremely well made from good quality materials, so you’d want to know what it is that would merit the extea

An easy comparison.

 

[Not-Entirely-Useless]

so the shipping cost is likely to bump up the cost significantly.

$99 shipping when I just looked. The Hongdui ships free from Banggood.

I’m not arguing that the Hongdui is better than the others - just that it’s a great choice for someone who wants excellent quality at a very good price.