Kunx Planes

Re: Kunx Planes

Todd Hughes

>From the ones I have seen and from what others have said about them they are just about an inch above Junk. Go out and buy a nice clean vintage Stanley ,[or Sargent, Union, or even a Millers Falls] plane that is in good condition and you should be happy. Should be able to get about any bench plane that you need for under $50 and common ones like a 3, 4 or 5 for $20 or less with out much trouble. Block planes can often be found for less even.... Still pretty cheap for a nice tool that will last you the rest of your life probably.....Todd

RE: Anant *LINK*

Matt Malin

>I bought an Anant No. 10 and was very, very disappointed with the casting and finish. The left and right sides of the plane were different thicknesses(significantly). The handles were rough and shoddy. I don't know about any of their other bench or block planes but I would steer clear of Anant planes. I will not buy another one again. I think some companies are trying to use Anant to fill the gap left by the loss of Record planes in the marketplace. They don't even come close to Records quality.

If you want excellence that won't break budget look at Veritas planes. For some things it's a dead heat between Lie-Nielsen and Veritas.


Veritas Planes are here.

Hi Todd :-) *LINK*

Jonathan Peck - N.Y.

>I never get to follow Todd's posts. Maybe I'm just a slowhead, but I can't seem to ever add anything once Todd's done illuminating the subject. So it is with great pleasure that I add the following to Todd's list o' quality second hand (*vintage if you like) hand plane makers.

Rather than re-type the whole darn list...yup, Stanley wasn't even close to being the only purveyor of quality hand planes...I've attached a link to da' list.

Regards

Jonathan - who's still wondering where all the $5 bedrocks are hiding.


Da' Link

Anant Planes

Rossmoor Galoot

>Not to disagree with Todd but there are divergent opinions on Anant's.

American Woodworker back in early 1996 (pre-Readers Digest days) did a comparison of smoothers and rated the Anant a �Best Value� for the money.

Garrett Hack reviewed the Anant #4 in FWW (June 1999, vol. 136). He gave it a mixed review but concluded after replacing the chipbreaker and iron with higher quality aftermarket items that: "even the $27 Anant was suddenly performing in the same league as Lie-Nielsen's Bedrock smoother".

My own personal experience with Anant began in 2000 when a co-worker gave me an Anant 78 duplex rabbet plane which is a knockoff of the Stanley 78. I liked the fact that it had a double-armed fence instead of the single arm fence the Stanley came with. It tuned up nicely and is one of my users.

As for smoothers, I have an Anant #4. The casting quality is good, it does have an adjustable frog and a vertical adjuster. I would put it on par with a Stanley made post world war II before they completely went to pot. The tote and knob were plastic on mine(since replaced). The blade leaves something to be desired but can be sharpened to produce fine shavings. I eventually replaced mine with a Hock.

An Anant smoother with a replacement iron will put you in the clover for way less than a Clifton, Lee Valley, Lie-Nielsen and the knowledge you acquire in fettling the Anant will not be wasted IMHO.

Not to say that older Stanley's aren't a good way to go (I own over 50 myself) but sometimes buying your first couple planes off of Ebay can be intimidating.

Re: Kunx Planes

Jim in Burlington Ontario

>I'd order a video preferably one of Rob Cosman's video's or David Charlesworth. It's one thing to read about technique and it's another to actually apply it. If someone close by can give you the basics and get you started all the better. Lot's of planes can be tuned to a high degree but I'd save money and go right to the bedrock flat sided planes and unpgrade the iron to a hock A2. I've seen a few Kunx planes and think they are pretty much paper weights and door stoppers.

Re: Kunx Planes

David Miller from Iowa

>Can't really say about either plane - but I bought the 18" long Kunz spokeshave and their knockoff of the Stanley chamfering spokeshave. These castings were maybe a bit rougher but, once tuned, they function every bit as well as the Stanley originals.

Green planes scare me...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>No comment on the Anant.

Re: Kunx Planes

Alan Hamilton

>Mike,

You're in kind of a tough spot. The best planes are expensive; the not so good planes need lots of work before they'll serve; and right now there's a wide void between them. Right now there doesn't seem to be anyone making "good-enough" quality planes.

You can save money by getting an Anant plane and fixing it up yourself. The problem is that you have never done this before. And, because you may have little experience with planes, you'll have small idea of what it's supposed to be like when it's completely tuned up.

You will be in roughly the same spot buying an old plane. You will have to at least check all the things on any tune-up list. Knowing little about planes will put you at a disadvantage when buying an old one.

Buying a Lie-Nielsen or a Lee Valley will get you a plane that is probably in good shape already. However, both will need their irons sharpened, frogs set, back-irons adjusted and everything else checked.

What I'm trying to say is that you need to learn before you buy. The Handplane Book is a good place to begin, as is Planecraft. You might also check out of the library Graham Blackburn's Traditional Woodworking Hand Tools, and Hand Tools, Their Ways and Workings by Aldren A Watson. Not so much for hand planes, but great for the devoted user of hand tools are all of Saint Roy of Underhill's Woodwright's Shop books.

Best of all would be for you to find a real live plane user around where you live. Stores that cater to woodworkers can be hard to find, but you may find a user working in a local hardware store, lumber yard, hardwood dealer, cabinet shop or big box. You also might look for clubs and even community college courses.

Remember the old saw "a fool and his money are soon parted." IMHO it's foolish to go buying your tools before you really know--at least a little--what you're buying. Also, getting a low quality plane, or even a good quality plane that needs some work, coupled with little hands-on experience, is the easiest and fastest way to sour you on their use. Using a well tuned hand plane is a delight; trying to use one that's out of shape is torture.

Alan

Re: Kunx Planes

Tom Colligan, Peoria

>Mike, just me two cents: It's not easy to incorporate the use of a hand plane in the actual process of making a piece of furniture. It takes significant skill to use the plane with success and not botch something up and then need to spend more time correcting the problem, i.e. some tear-out. Again, this is just my opinion and based on my experience. So do consider this before spending a handsome piece of change in acquiring a useable plane. Above all else you'll need to get the plane iron razor sharp and nothing less than razor sharp. This means having all the equipment needed to do expert sharpening which is a bit of a skill and expense in itself.

I have nearly 20 planes (counting all types) and it can become a sub-hobby by itself. The ones I'm fondest of are the Stanley's from eBay.

Be sure to check out the 'Articles' from WC that explain how to tune up a flea market plane. All the best, Mike.

A Neophyte's Response

Gerry Doll

>Mike,

From one neophyte to another, all of the above advise is solid. I would advise you read all you can off this board and others re: hand plane tune up. Also, a recent issue of FWW had a great step by step on tuning hand plane.

That being said, prepare on opening up a metal shop to go with your woodworking if you go the vintage route. I live in the Chicago area, and apparently vintage planes are much easier to come by in other areas.

I have almost managed to ruin some planes in attempting to tune them. ( Avoid commercial rust removers at all costs!!!!) A 24" x 4" x 1/2" plate glass and lots of SC paper will become your new work bench.

Also note, before attempting to tune a plane, especially for a novice, hone the blade and see how it works without adjusting the frog, filing the mouth, etc. For a new user, light and fluffy shavings are the goal, not .0001 shavings and a sole within .0001 tolerances. Don't get carried away with the esoterica like I did.

By the way, one of my first purchases was an Anant jack. It took a fair amount of work, but from my limited experience, it works well enough.

Good Luck,

Gerry