Celebrity plane *LINK*

I'm Starting to Understand.

Todd Hughes


>...The seller of the plane did list it on the ebay to well..SELL it right? they just didn't want it to sell to well. Even though they have been on the ebay for 6 years and sold dozens of items they didn't know about the "Buy it now" feature to use it so it wouldn't sell to high, I do see I guess they knew enough to use the Ebay reserve auction feature to make sure it didn't sell to cheap .OK..They also felt apparently they had to talk the plane up by telling about it's celebrity" maker otherwise they didn't think it would sell for enough standing alone as just a plane. In the end even after going to this trouble to sell it and to make sure it went for enough they decided they would just give the thing away after all....OK...I will say loudly now that I believe all this so that MY "Temperment" [!?] will not be called into question though I do fear it may be at the expense of being thought a gullable slow head by many.

After being told that JK and his son are babes in the woods when it comes to selling stuff this...uhmm "Wheeler Dealler" thinks they did a pretty good job promoting thier item talking it up with hyperbole such as this....

...."At their best, these planes are "instruments", really--resonating with a very fine balance of wood, weight, shape, and a keen blade. Because they slice through the wood, they offer a whole range of sensory experience: the feelof the plane itself as it cuts, the rocking motion of slicing through the wood, the sound of a sharp blade lifting a fine shaving, the magical appearance of the shaving as it lifts up and out of the plane...and the smell of the freshly-cut wood....."

Though the seller / writer later admitted ..." I am not a wood worker and know nothing this type of thing" .......Todd

Re: I'm Starting to Understand.

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX


>I've long found JK's self catagorization as an "amateur" just a bit disingenuous. I don't quite understand the need to say he does not have to work for money, meanwhile having worked at what sound like fairly odious jobs for what? Money? So he must need to think he was working for fun, perhaps a leftover from his parents who also didn't have to work for money, or so he's said. All a little tedious.

However, he did marvelous work and was instrumental in founding a school that was marvelous, at least for a while (his assessment that it's no longer a great school [edited by Moderator]). We both love Yanagi's "The Unknown Craftsman, " and he's written some very well written and informative books. The world is a better place for his existence.

Maybe JK is unsettled by what his son(-in-law) has done? Maybe he still has issues with money? Maybe he doesn't want to clutter his mind with monetary concerns, and to make sure of this he compensates by talking about not worrying about money at the drop of a hat? But, hey, I'm no shrink and it's not fair to try to analyze someone long distance, so this is all wild speculation.[deleted by Moderator]

Pam

Re: I'm Starting to Understand.

Roy Hennagir


>It interests me how he (JK) has time to keep the public informed as to his mortification of the price realized and his intent to not collect monies owed. I met Sam Maloof once so perhaps I have some insight into his mind. The last article I read where he states he was the first to come up with the Maloof curve that is now called the California curve. He can name names� I could speak for him� Perhaps��

It�s up for auction then you must want money. Was his school free? Starving student or brilliant marketing ploy? I�d say marketing.

The point to me was my earlier post about the $300.00 tools not making the furniture but the person behind the tools.

Re: I'm Starting to Understand.

Thom D


>The school he worked at was pretty much free if you are from Cali.

The only problem about dropping the price is that whoever first bid that price didn't get it.

I don't know why it bothered K. to charge so much. Older people I know often are shocked at what younger people (at some point nearly everyone) will pay for stuff. In the country where we spend some time I can get a giant load of rock delivered in a massive dump truck from a distance of about 10 miles for 60 bucks a load. It's some old guy who is the basis of the whole local economy. He evicts the racoons, digs the foundations, plows the snow. He has an excavator the replacement of which is apparently 500K, but he won't buy a new one because he doesn't want to work that hard. This is one smart guy he knows what he needs to take in, and he knows what he needs to charge, but he could charge more. People like that all over the place. Ebay is not that place, it's a global auction market with it's own values.

Krenov plane *LINK*

Clay C in Miami

>Well, the buyer put this Celebrity Plane back on the market (I believe he did not end up paying the $1200 winning price for it the first time.) IIRC, he also listed it a few weeks back with an opening price of $1500, and drew no bids. But, at $450 I thought it was worthwhile, if only as an iconic item.

Clay


Krenov Plane

That Orange Blade

Steve Elliott

>Back before aftermarket blades like Hock were available there was an orange-painted blade by Kunz that had the best edge retention of all the blades on the market. In addition to the paint they were stamped "Spezialstahl." I bought one in about 1979 for use in a block plane and it still compares favorably to most of the block plane blades I own.

Since I removed the orange paint from mine I can't say for sure that the blade in the Krenov plane has the same color paint, but that would at least explain why Krenov used that blade.

Re: That Orange Blade

Wiley Horne

>Steve,

Does the blade sharpen on water stones, or does it require something stronger? The ebay description of Clay's plane says the blade is high-speed steel--that makes me think 'diamond' right away.

Wiley

Re: Krenov plane

Wiley Horne

>Congratulations Clay! Once you've had the plane for a while, I'd be interested to hear your impressions about it--in use.

Wiley

Re: That Orange Blade

Steve Elliott

>I used that blade on a block plane dedicated to planing edges of plastic laminate. At the time I was using waterstones and got an edge that seemed to work well enough, although the bevel angle had to be about 35 degrees.

I'm sure I have that plane around somewhere but I couldn't find it today. I haven't used it since I switched to diamond sharpening methods, but I'm sure it would be easier to sharpen with diamond paste than with waterstones, and would probably take a keener edge, too.

Re: That Orange Blade

ThomD

>HSS sharpens easily on just about anything, depending a little on which HSS. For example there are Japanese HSS blades that sharpen great on waterstones.

Speaking of edge retention circa 1979. That was when Japanese tools were king, pre most having heard of the western industry leaders of today like LV, or LN at least for a wide range of tool options. Blue steel replacement blades were very popular at the time, and they still compare favourably to anything made since. I had a bunch of those in record, Ulmia,infills, etc...

Re: That Orange Blade

Wiley Horne

>Thom,

That's interesting to hear that about the Japanese HSS.

The reason for my question is this: When I hear 'HSS', I think M2. And when I think of M2, I think diamond. Do you have any idea which alloy the Japanese HSS is?

Wiley

I have an orange one, too

Friedrich Kollenrott

>the orange blades Kunz sold then (and I think they still do) are made of HSS. Unfortunately not very well ground (not flat) and it takes very, very much time to flatten its back by hand. I never liked that blade. Very good edge retention, indeed, but extremely laborious to sharpen by hand. The blade had originally a very steep bevel, I think it was intended to be used on formica and similar materials.

Friedrich Kollenrott, Extertal (Germany)