Never knew what I had been missing

[Orraloon]

Well as the heading says I never knew how nice a wooden spokeshave is to use. For the last 50 years I have only ever used metal ones. They work well and get the job done but a wooden one just feels so much better in the hand. I picked up this adjustable Mathieson shave on ebay for a good price.

Sorry no before or WIP pics as I did not intend posting until I realized how well I liked using it. It was very worn and grooved in the sole and would only gouge out chunks so I had to splice in a bit of osage to make a new sole. Almost the same colour as boxwood but harder. Its an awkward shape to clamp or hold in a vice so I put the rebate plane in the vice and ran the shave over it to form a rebate for the insert. I did think of a brass strip but would still have had to lay down new wood for that. I like the wood on wood feel so that will do for now. I can always add brass later if I have to.
Regards
John

 

[paulrbarnard]

It is always fulfilling bringing an old tool back in to use and it is often a revelation that the ‘modern’ improvements aren’t always improvements. I have a number of wooded shaves and I agree they feel much better in the hand that their metal counterparts. A couple of mine also have new soles applied.

 

[Orraloon]

I had been on the lookout for a wooden adjustable shave for quite a while. I was prepared for a bit of work and even to make a whole new body if it came to that so long as the blade and adjustment nuts were OK. Hardware looked good and it being a Mathieson I went for it. May try a standard blade one next if I come on something in reasonable condition.
Regards
John