Kunz Concave Spokeshave

I use one

mike recchione

>It took a little fettling to get it to work OK, but not all that much. I didn't go through all the rigamarole of re-bedding the blade with epoxy or anything like that, just filed the roughest spots and sharpened the iron. Maybe I got lucky - a friend of mine bought one and hated it so much he actually took it back to the store. But mine works reasonably well as long as I keep it sharp. This is by no stretch a finishing tool, but I've yet to use a shave that is - including my Veritas and Kelly Cigar shaves. It does work reasonably well for shaping, used with the grain. Which is what it's for, after all.

Re: I use one

Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT

>In general Kuntz doesn't have a good reputation in the on line community. I thought I was the only one to have anything nice to say about them.

The concave sole one is a knock-off of the Stanley 55. I found that if I increased the angle of the Kuntz iron's bevel to match that of the Stanley, they performed about the same. I use them for shaping round chair parts in green wood, and they do this well. Because their throats are pretty wide open you're not going to get fine cuts in hard dry woods too easily. On the other hand, my LN Boggs concave spoke shave that excells at making fine cuts in dry wood will clog on green spindle stock at each pass.

It sounds to me like your application is a good one for the Kuntz- but regrind the bevel (a dremel tool or a small round grinder in an electric drill works well).

Greg

Re: I use one

Fred Krow

>Greg,

Could you give us the approximate angel to regring the bevel on the Kuntz.

I have an old one and it is in the cardboard box of discards, would like to refurb and use the shave.

Regards,

Fred Krow

Re: I use one

Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT

>Unless someone can measure their Stanley 55's bevel angle first, I'll try to get out in the shop this evening and post a reply...

Greg

35�

Greg B�tit

>

Re: Kunz Concave Spokeshave

Alan Hamilton

>Bob,

Because the others have only nice things to say, I guess I'll have to give the other side.

I have the great misfortune to own both a concave and convex Kunz shave. They both reside somewhere, unprotected, around my bench, dissolving into rust--I hope. I don't ever want to see them again.

I fettled, fine-tuned, fiddled, fussed and other things that begin with 'f' (get your mind out of the gutter!) and I never got the &%#$ing things to work worth a tinker's drat. I suppose it's possible to get them to work, but only with a complete overhaul of the sort spelled out in that Fine Woodworking article a while back. I would think leveling the bed and constructing a new cap iron out of 1/4" brass would be the minimum.

On mine, the bed is a long way from being flat. When I tried to flatten it by filing I began to run out of casting long before it got anywhere near flat. Also, filing would open even more a mouth that's already too wide.

The cap iron (hah!) looks like it was stamped, and not like a casting. It has the same trouble as the bed: it's not flat, and it's not beefy enough to stand much file work. And, of course, such a wimpy cap iron in and of itself isn't a good thing.

Because there is no adjustment mechanism, and a single screw holds the iron and cap iron, getting the &%#$ing iron properly extended, AND the cap iron set properly, is a real trial of dexterity, patience and your supply of oaths. I've gotten it close, but never properly adjusted. If you ever do get one right, leave it alone! Don't ever touch it again! Not even to sharpen the iron.

As soon as they came out I bought the three Lee Valley shaves. They are excellent tools and a pleasure to use. A friend has Clifton convex and concave shaves and she finds them to be excellent tools as well. I would say to to steer clear of a Kunz; at best, it will always be a cheap tool.

Alan

Thanks, Everyone! Might Give It a Go.

Bob Hutchins in central Texas

>

I was wondering where everyone else was! :)

Greg B�tit

>

My mom said if you can't say something nice...

Eric Hedberg

>then keep your mouth shut. So, Greg, that's why I refrained from saying anything about the Kunz shave;-) There's no accounting for people's taste in tools anyhow. Eric (Still in denial about some of his tool shame)

Re: My mom said if you can't say something nice...

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>She was wrong, as was mine and hundreds of thousands of others. While in general it's better to be polite in normal situations, it's also better to speak up when garbage is being sold in a climate of silence. Sometimes it's better for those making the garbage to be told they need to either produce something better or go make something else. They never will if they can keep selling the same old junk.

Pam

Re: It's not easy being green

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>That's a quote from Kermit the Frog.

"Hulk smash puny human"

Eric Hedberg

>He also finds it not easy being green. I suspect that a lot of Bruce Banners inner rage is because he uses Kunz tools for woodworking. Certainly need the Hulk's strength to push/pull one of those spokeshaves, or so I hear. Eric

Fault lies not in the manufacturers, but ....

Eric Hedberg

>in ourselves when we buy on price and not performance. And unfortunately, I think we are too much driven by low price. Every reputable manufacturer deserves a fair profit (even those getting hosed by a tanking US dollar). That being said, I'll probably get a Kunz spokeshave someday for the same reason I have some cheap chisels. They're probably handy for that nasty lumber which apparently they a lot of on the Eastern seaboard. Eric (Who is astonished that people would admit they have let alone use a Kunz spokeshave;-)

Re: Fault lies not in the manufacturers, but ....

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>But the assumption that price equals poor, great, or good, performance is a faulty one. That's why people ask questions here. For example, I know that Two Cherries are great performers for not much money, and that they're better than contemporary Marples blue chips. Otherwise, we're doomed to repeat.

Pam

My mom said -

Clay C in Miami

>Mine said:

"If you can't say anything nice about anyone ... come right over here and sit by me!"

Clay

Re: My mom said -

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>You're Eleanor Roosevelt Longworth's son? Wow.

Re: My mom said -

Richard in Oakville ON

>I think you mean Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Alice was Teddy Roosevelt's daughter. Another quote involving her was from Teddy Roosevelt when he was President - "I can manage the country or I can manage Alice, but I can't do both!"

Yep, you're right; CRS strikes again!

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>

Re: My mom said -

Clay C in Miami

>"You're Eleanor Roosevelt Longworth's son? Wow."

____________________________

Naw, she was better with the mots juste than with the attributions ... much like the (Shaw? Wilde?) exchange, following a witticism:

(Admirer): I wish I'd said that!

(Wit): You will, you will.

Clay

(More the esprit de l'escalier type)

esprit de l'escalier

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>Diderot strikes again!