Thread: Kanna

Adam

I have no experience with Japanese kanna at all so can't give you any useful advice.

As to the alternatives, I can highly recommend the HNT Gordon smoother. It's about three times more expensive than the $50 kanna you mention but it is designed for smoothing Aussie hardwoods and does a great job.

Actually, that's an important point. What type of timber are you working on? Western style planes mostly have a bed angle of 45 degrees, designed for softwoods. If you're working on tricky-grained hardwood, you'll get tear-out with this angle. For most of our hardwoods, you need a plane with a bed angle of 60 degrees (like the Gordon smoother).

Col

Click!

I think I've mentioned in a previous post that I'm saving for a HNT Aussie Jack Plane. So I agree with oyu wholeheartedly. I'm just thinking of alternatives..........

Adam

The cheapest alternative might be to use a back bevel on your existing plane or get a spare blade and put a back bevel on it so you can swap between the two. There has been plenty of posts about back bevels in the past and a search should turn them up. As I understand it Japanese planes require a fair bit of tuning before they are ready to be used and are still bedded at 45deg. If you're still interrested in them it might be worth getting hold of a book byToshio Odate called "Japanese Woodworking Tools, Their Tradition Spirit and Use", ISBN 0-941936-46-5, interresting reading even if you don't intend to get into Japanese tools.

There was a Japanese artisan at last year's Sydney WW show, and I noticed that he often stopped and used a chisel on the base of his planes.

He'd scrape the chisel across the base of the plane just before, and just after the mouth, and I got the impression from the diagram he drew when someone asked what he was doing, that he only wanted the plane to be touching the workpiece at the very ends of the sole, and in a small area around the mouth of the plane. Rather different from the "perfectly flat all over" approach taken with western planes....

Cheers,
Andrew

LL

You may want to look at this link which deals with setting up Japanese planes (kanna):

http://japanwoodworker.com/page.asp?content_id=2659

I do think that Col (Driver) has a good point about the blade angles. These Japanese planes really do work best on softer, straight-grained timber, which is what you'd find in Japan. The HNT Gordon planes are are different in that they are set up for hardwoods. They are similar in that they can also be pulled, which as you know is the method of using a Japanese plane.

Having said all that, I too am curious about the cheaper Japanese planes. I only have a cheap bevel plane (and am not too impressed with this - I later made my own, which works much better).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hmm, I think I might stick with the HNT gorden given that I'm mostly going to be working with recycled jarrah/karri.

IT makes me think about planing technique though. The "pull" technique suggests that downward force is not required, yet we are taught to push down on the plane..........

Adam

Hi guys, has anyone purchased a Scarper plane of recent times and if you have which one did you buy and were you happy with it???
Cheers Sinjin.

PS i own 2 Gordon planes and i can't speak more highly of them. They really do work very well on Aust hardwoods. I also own a couple of Japanese planes which i really like but they are way better on softwoods. If you plan on using Aust hardwoods then i would go for the Gordon planes. Just my 2 cents worth.

I have heard very good things about the Veritas scraper plane. It is less expensive than the Lie Nielson #112, which is based on the classic Stanley #112.

I have a Stanley #112 with a LN blade, and this is used for large surface areas. It is capable of removing gossamer thin shavings on very difficult timber. For smaller areas I use a Stanley #80. For even smaller areas I use card scrapers.

One of the BEST scrapers is the HNT Gordon smoother with a reversed blade. The only downside is that this blunts the blade for planing. So my recommendation is to by a second blade just for scraping.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hi Derek and thanks for saying hello, Are you saying given your choice you would go for the Gordon plane or say the Verirtas?? I own a couple or Gordons and think there just great.
You may be able to tell on the pic of the Veritas plane on the net the sole plate looks as if it has sopme sort of insert is that correct or am i just seeing something.
Cheers Sinjin

Sinjin

I have not used, only read reports about the Veritas. It appears really good value for money. On the other hand, if you wanted to save costs, I'd get another blade for the HNT Gordon and use that as a scraper when necessary.

Note that LN make a few scraper planes, and it could come down to size needed. For example, their #212 (small scaper plane) may be just what you want.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hey Adam,

I'm living in the land of the rising sun and almost never use my Japanese planes even though I've got a couple of the good ones. They are excellent with softwoods, but I rarely use the stuff.. They do make specialty kanna with a york style pitch, but haven't ever tried one.. If it's a choice beween kanna and HNT Gordon, I'd save up and get the Gordon. By all accounts, they eat hardwood..

At least for me, the heft of the iron planes is nice for hardwoods. I have one of the Veritas scraper planes. It's very nice to use once you get used to it. Takes a while to get the knack of setting it and the burr just right though. Must say, following the instructions to the word makes a big difference. I did find it pretty heavy going in hardwood. The sole is wider than the original Stanley and it does take a bit of strength and weight to keep it moving on big surfaces. I did a Wenge tabletop with it and it performed as advertised. Hands didn't - they were a bit sore afterwards..