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Handplanes of your dreams

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
There's enough handplane lovers around here that this could be an informative question. What are your dream handplanes (handtools in general are acceptable)? I'm a sucker for the infills, so Norris and Preston would be at the top of my list. Of all of them….hmmm….probably a Norris panel plane (below) closely followed by a big Mathieson.

Wood Tool Machine Metal Auto part


Please share yours!
 

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#3 ·
OK Andy, I'll buy your Brese if you'll buy my A1 Holtey panel plane. It's a deal. When should we plan the exchange? I'm guessing you live in England, so it'd probably be easier if I bring it to you. Let me know when you've picked up the ticket. :)

 

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#5 ·
Wayne Anderson's planes are inspiring workhorses.

as Christopher Schwarz say´s in an article here on this site
http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/cSchwarz/z_art/andersonPlanes/andersonPlanes.asp

and it is beautyfull handmade planes he makes to your specification they are arts in themself
and will inspire to make better work , they don´t make you a better woodworker but they
will inspire you to do more than your best
read the article and go to mr. Anderson´s site and see for your self but be aware if you click
you want one of his buty´s ten times more than a Carl Holtey plane

http://www.andersonplanes.com/

take care
Dennis
 
#9 ·
So if I put by £1 a week, you should have it in about 135 years. Hope that's ok.

Joking aside, I think Ron Brese's prices are justified, even reasonable. Personally, I've never liked the look of Wayne Anderson's planes, they always look a bit awkward to me. As for Holteys, I can't see what makes them so much more expensive than Brese planes personally. Who buys Holteys apart from collectors with deep pockets? If I was making premium infill planes, I'd want them to be used and appreciated by craftsmen not stuck in a glass display cabinet. What's your opinion?
 
#11 ·
^I couldn't agree more! On all accounts, really. I don't find the prices of this custom modern planes to be anything unsightly for the art involved, a nearly lost art until rather recently it seems. I own a sprinkling of Lie Nielsens but that's because they're ready to go out of the box & I can't afford the Stanley miters, etc. No handplane that's unwilling to work is allowed in my shop. If I won the lottery, I'd own a Holtey, and I'd drag it across dirty boards and toss it in with the rest of the guys (like Mads' fairy tale). For a commercial collection like Lee Valley's, I can understand preserving the history of an early Victor Bailey but in my shop, no one just gets admired. There are probably rich lucky ba$tards that use Holteys, but I bet there aren't many of them.

Paul Hamler planes are a different story. I know many owners (me included) that own them and use them hard. One guy had to reorder irons because he'd worn his down! Now that's a guy I like.

Paul Hamler custom
 

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#15 ·
^Charlie, that happened to me when I set off to Type my first #4. It was ingenious of Stanley & others to assign numbers to their lines. It makes the ever-changing subtle modifications all the more exciting to track. The history of the handplane is unlike any other mechanical history to me. It's simply fascinating.
 
#18 ·
Dennis - I love your definition of a hand plane. "A jig to hold a chisel at the correct angle". You should add that to Wikipedia.

Charlie - I think we all suffer from that. I'm going through that stage that all new woodworkers go through where I study a particular type of tool, learn about it, read reviews, decide which one to buy, buy it, take it apart and fiddle with it, learn what makes it good and develop an appreciation and love for it. In some ways I think it is healthy, because only after you've been through all that can you get the best out of a tool. The woodworking will come and hopefully be better for it. At least that's what I tell the wife. :)
 
#19 ·
Register Napolean for the Damascus Japanese chisels! I've salivated over them myself many times. Another example of a rare craftsman producing legacy quality hand tools.
And to Brit, that's why we love the vintage tools so much. They've got the heft, power, and longevity that we all admire. I mean come on…

 

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