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3 Sizes of Japanese Plane

We look at the three sizes of Kakuri plane that we reach for the most.

We love Japanese planes, and we think you will too. Our planes, or "kanna" in Japanese, come in plenty of different sizes - so which one should you start out with?

Well, assuming you are looking at Kakuri's excellent offering, you have three obvious choices - the 42mm, 48mm and 58mm models.

If it helps you to compare them to Western planes, you can think of the 42mm as being an all-rounder block plane, the 58mm as a smoothing plane (it's dimensions aren't so different to a #4 stanley-pattern smoother), and the 48mm as being adaptable as either a jack- or smoothing-plane, depending on how you profile the plane blade and tune the sole.

In this video, Mitch runs through each of these options. Although the 42mm and 58mm have been tuned and sharpened, the 48mm he uses is straight out of the box and factory fresh. Not all planes will work this easily straight out of the box, but some do (evidently).

It is worth pointing out here that the timber construction of Japanese planes, although feared by some as something that needs adjusting or tuning for maximum results, is actually one their great strengths.

The timber block (also called a "dai") that forms the body of the plane can be tuned by the user to allow the plane to smooth or to straighten, depending on how many contact patches it it given by the user.

Any movement in the block can also be remedied by a quick and intuitive flattening and scraping, made all the easier because the plane is probably surrounded by a swathe of other tools designed to shape and dimension timber. Such a fortuitous coincidence!

For our full instructions on tuning the soles of Japanese planes, check out our post here.