New wooden double iron plane maker from the States

[Corneel]

Steve Voigt started a new endeavour, wooden double iron planes along the lines of the early 19th century, the summit of wooden bench plane making. They feature especially made LV tapered and slotted irons.

http://www.voigtplanes.com/

Good luck to Steve.

 

[lurker]

It's good when people review old methods and come to realise they represented a peak before the advent of accountants taking over.
I can't see him selling many in the UK as originals are ten a penny.

 

[Corneel]

No indeed, too many old ones still around. But a lot of these are pretty worn out. So if someone wants a brand spanking new one, at least now there is a choice. I don't think he is going for a large output, so I think he'll be happy with just a few customers.

I have long since ideas to make a few myself. Allready collected irons and beech, now just need to collect a bit of time.

 

[MIGNAL]

Oddly enough the US is the main market for things like traditional hand planes. I use the word odd because the US also has a reputation for having woodworkers who use nothing but machines!
I suppose it's a large enough country to have both types of woodworkers. . . and some inbetween :?
Well the antique traditional wooden plane is hardly scarce in the UK or the states. Which kind of begs the question why anyone would buy one from a maker operating today, especially given the price that needs to be charged for folk to make some sort of living from it. The answer does not lie in the function of these objects. If it did no one would ever have bought a Holtey, a Bill Carter or perhaps even a LN. People buy them because they can. They are craft products made by people working today. Mostly you are buying from a lone craftsman and it fits into the aura of a 'handmade' item. You could almost refer to them as being lifestyle purchases. Personally I don't see anything wrong with that. Folk spend all sorts of money on all manner of things. Quite often those items end up in landfill within a few years, the value and function of the product down to zero. If I was a bit richer I would certainly buy one of Bill Carters planes, yes the one with the wobbly stamp made from an old saw. Unfortunately I'm one of those struggling craftsmen who can just about afford to eat.

 

[Trafalgar]

There are plenty of old woodies available in the U.S.

These planes by Steve Voigt (a good guy who has been around U.S. forums for a long time) will appeal to a limited group and that's good --- hopefully the market will size itself to match Voigt's output and all will be well.