Tuning a $3.59 Japanese Plane: a Journey of Discovery

In this video I show how I purchased a new Japanese-style plane brand new on Ebay for $3.59 -- with shipping from Hong Kong included -- and made it work very nicely. Also known as "How to turn chicken shit into chicken salad." I looked at this as a little experiment that would be fun but probably not yield a working plane. But things turned out much better than I expected. If you buy one of these planes and make a video I'd like to hear about it in the comments.
Here's a link to the Ebay ad (you might have to cut and paste): www.ebay.com/it...

[@mitchwoodwork]

$3.59 - Can't argue with that! Some might factor in the work to improve it, but to me that would be 'fun' time. Thanks for sharing

[@marceloiannini8199]

Luckly that you didn't get the blade back 100% flat. Because that back is hollowed, which saves you a LOT of time when flattening it. This is found on most expensive chisels, planes and japanese wood tools. Quite impressive that this cheap plane displays such features. I always tune my tools anyway.

[@amezcuaist]

These little planes are brilliant .Do all the preparation you would lavish on a traditional Japanese plane and ---get a clamp to keep the wood still when you plane with it .

[@yiyongleng7157]

I am a Chinese woodworking enthusiast, your plane actually is a Chinese style one. And the brand you bought is called"木井方"（Mujinfang）. Look from the shape, the biggest difference is the Chinese plane has a streamlined top, while Japanese plane is a cuboid.

[@wickedmessenger1]

Part of my journey of discovery was finding out that it's not a Japanese plane.

[@zhangluis1880]

我仔细看了一下标签，貌似写的木鼎方不是木井方，哈哈哈，貌似是山寨？ 北京木友发来问候~

[@mujingfangofficialwoodwell5515]

Hi Yiyong, sorry to interrupt here. We just came across with your comment and had to clarify that this is NOT one of our planes. We found a lot of counterfeit products that imitate the Mujingfang brand on ebay and other ecommerce sites over the years. If you look closely, @wickedmessenger1 has purchased a plane named "木鼎方 Mudingfang." One letter difference. Also you can tell by the price and quality. Customers should pay closer attention to avoid buying one of these counterfeit brands. Thank you!

[@18roselover]

FYI . I have 2 of these rosewood chinese planes. I would let the rosewood block sit in your shop acclimate to your shops humidity. for several months As these come from a hot an humid environment

[@JohnColgan.]

I bought the same plane , I believe it was shipped from China. Did you set yours Bevel up or down? My cutting iron was factory ground to 30°. Bevel up has the cutting edge almost vertical. But neat little tool when tuned. Even though it has virtually no mass, it worked fairly well on my shooting board

[@robertwilson4704]

I purchased one awile ago and had the same experience you had. I remade my wedge and sharpening the blade helps.

[@ahikernamedgq]

There's a great Japanese plane on Amazon (65mm) for like $45. If you're ever interested in that, check it out.

[@rhysebanks3894]

It's a Chinese plane not Japanese plane

[@ahikernamedgq]

It is. But, it functions similarly.

[@archkde]

Chinese planes are actually pushed, and the blades usually aren't wedged, so it's much more like a Western wooden plane, like a Krenov, than a Japanese plane. Also, usually the Chinese don't laminate their irons like the Japanese do.

[@Annihilation666]

It's a Japanese style plane produced in China...chinese plane looks different.

[@egglyph]

I'm sorry, but it's not. It's a contemporary Chinese plane. Doesn't make it bad or anything, just not Japanese.

[@chaodong4620]

No It is completely different

[@robertbrunston5406]

I bought one too! Mine needs some more tuning but it works. Thank you.

[@laurentnahra708]

i bought one ,i had to work on tuning it but the results arent bad at all for such a price....i expected the iron to be really crappy but its not. overall i like it ,especially for this price.

[@zippy1981dotnet]

The iron is not the hardest of steel, but on the plus side it's very quickly gets flat and sharp.

[@amezcuaist]

The man in the video is not very good at sharpening .

[@E-BikingAdventures]

If you hammer the iron in place, you should then hammer the wedge to secure the iron. What kind of wood were you planing?

[@Aubreykun]

This is quite interesting. I don't think this would work very well as it's built, but maybe it can function as a source of parts. The body itself looks like it can be a decent base to apply a better blade to, and the cheap blade could be more useful if reshaped and affixed to some other tool. Maybe as a sharpenable cutter for a masking tape or twine spool? Alternatively it could be just a decent "travel toolbox" item - A) the wood is lighter than metal; B) if dinged up it can be fixed easier away from home than a cheap metal plane in a pinch C) costs less than even the harbor freight equivalent, and far less than a proper wooden plane.

[@arceusmaster91]

Japanese planes aren't designed to make small chips, but instead make long ribbons.

[@robinalexander5772]

tap the wedge not the blade. tap front of plane to retract blade , tap rear to advance blade light taps.

[@watermain48]

I enjoyed the video in spite of hearing you repeatedly calling it a Japanese plane. For four bucks I think you scored a win.

[@allen131313]

I also bought one of these planes. It's a $3.95 plane. Don't expect it to be anything more. It has a nice piece of very dense wood, but without a lot of tuning and modification, it's not even worth the $3.95. JMHO

[@QuacGiaNgoVietCongHoa]

As a Asian, i say it is a toy ,not real tool. i use it to cut leather, it perform well.

[@harshawickramasinghe9954]

This is not a Japanese plane, and it works on push strokes than pull strokes. This plane may be good for thin/small pieces wood where you cannot use a bigger plane. I also got one but haven't had a chance to use it. Thanks for the video; it will help me tuning the plane for better use.

[@wickedmessenger1]

Part of my journey of discovery was to find out that this isn't a Japanese plane.

[@amezcuaist]

Mine works well on wobbly grain mahogany .

[@robertwilson4704]

It is good for a plane turning class with the kids.

[@tyvole2387]

When checking for sole flatness, isn't it best to have the iron and wedge installed?

[@wickedmessenger1]

In theory, yes. In practice, on a tiny little plane like this with a crappy wedge I doubt you could tell the difference. But when I flatten a metal plane I have the iron installed (but withdrawn away from the sole) because there is noticeable distortion.

[@coreyfishing4973]

Tyvole no

[@amezcuaist]

Exactly .The wood will change shape slightly under tension .Well spotted . Good basic preparation .

[@amezcuaist]

@@wickedmessenger1 Same applies to a wooden plane .

[@labrat7357]

Check out some of the HNT Gordon videos, He makes high end wood bodied planes that work better than most metal planes. He also shows how to set them up. All the best

[@bubbagrant]

I got one too...minus the blade...they said sorry and never heard from them again lol

[@wickedmessenger1]

That doesn't surprise me at all.

[@amezcuaist]

Get some high speed steel and slip it in .

[@thecrazyisreal]

I did notice this on Ebay, I believe this "mudingfang' is the knockoff version of mujingfang planes. If anyone knows different please let me know. both are economical, and I own and few that are great for the cost.

[@stgo.s.4067]

omfg.... please clamp that wood !

[@drpain5260]

That a China plane with japanese style brother😂

[@tylerlw82]

Did you spray your diamond stone with Windex? Can I ask why that is? I'm genuinely curious if i can use that at home for my stuff. Thanks!

[@wickedmessenger1]

I did indeed use Windex for the diamond stone. I must confess that I started doing that because I saw other videos where they do that. I don't know what the advantages are, if any. But it seems to be widespread in the hand tool community at this point. But everybody could be wrong, I suppose. I normally use just plain old water, preferably using the stone under an inch or two of water so the swarf never collects on the stone. I still think that's the ultimate way to do it. I didn't have that option where I filmed the video so I used Windex.

[@dorshem-tov2470]

window cleaning products arent as think as oils, if u try using thick oil on a 8000 grit stone in can actually create a layer covering the grit and the stone wont work properly

[@dorshem-tov2470]

make sure that what ever it is you'll use if u have metal diamond plates you dont want them to rust

[@Aubreykun]

One of the main ingredients of Windex is ammonia which chemically turns fats/oils into soap. This is the main streak/spot/waterstain removal action if I understand it right (but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.) I have no idea if this has any affect on synthetic oil residue on tools, or for sharpening at all. It may be useful for polishing dirty tools, maybe? Or maybe someone just happened to start using it because a spray bottle is simpler to have around than a big water basin :P

[@GraphicManInnovations]

would you retest the push cut on a paper for the blade after this short workout? let us know if it still holds its sharpness

[@wickedmessenger1]

I just tested it and it does cut paper like before but this time I got a few snags and tears, and overall I can tell it's not quite as smooth cutting through the paper. So it has changed a bit just from that short amount of planing. It might be little microchips in the edge if the metal is too brittle or it might be that the metal is too soft and the edge already radiused.

[@GraphicManInnovations]

hmm interesting, thanks for your feedback:)

[@matthewharvey8755]

I just got one for 1.45

[@matthewharvey8755]

Blade wasn't at a 90 or anything lmao... I really just wanted the steel for a little project XD

[@josevelez7539]

Not Japanese for sure... Maybe Chinese plane?!

[@rossanctuary5238]

Isn't that a Chinese plane?

[@shinychan4697]

You know what,that's Chinese plane!

[@354133]

All Asian planes have to be tuned, none of them work out of the box, As the tradition goes, only master craftsmen buy tools and every craftsman wants his tool to work the way he wants, basically they want to put their special touches on their tools. So tool makers only build the basic tool and leave the finishing touches to the craftsman.

[@wickedmessenger1]

Oh, trust me, I had zero expectations that this would work even the slightest bit out of the box. I was very impressed that it worked to a certain extent before I spent any time tuning it. And I do understand that even an Asian plane that cost more than $3.59 would also need tuning.

[@johnoneill8842]

I just got this thing yesterday. It came free with a spoke shave I ordered. Im brandy new to woodworking. I think this is a great little tool to learn and tune up, make mistakes and correct them. Also, if I come to find out I dont like woodwork, I didnt invest a bunch of money into it.

[@amezcuaist]

@@johnoneill8842 Use a candle to make a soot mark where it touches.Bob Roseiski tells you how to fit blades in wooden planes .

[@военныйнапенсии]

сразу из коробки мало что работает...

[@ernststravoblofeld]

This is painful to watch. It has no resemblance to a Japanese plane. And if you want to make the cutter stay, hit the WEDGE, not the iron. Became it's not a Japanese plane...

[@vollmond1822]

it's chinese :D

[@robinalexander5772]

4.30 min in too much blade out.

[@woodworkingandepoxy643]

it's a Chinese plane not Japanese and could have been purchased on wish for a dollar lol

[@chunshengzhao1339]

这个刨子不同于日本拉刨，是向前推刨，你根本不懂，这是中式刨子，要搞清楚，你根本没资格评论

[@iamrocketray]

If you bought a new Stanley plane would you try it without sharpening the blade first? No of course you wouldn't(unless you're simple) So at least give the blade a look at a sharpening stone otherwise you are testing a scraper and not a plane.

[@wickedmessenger1]

No, all planes need tuning. I think I stated in the video that I have watched a lot of other videos like this and they never show how it worked (or didn't work) before they start sharpening and tuning. I wanted to know just how unusable it was in the as-received condition before I started improving it. Due to the price of this plane it is likely that whoever buys it is not an experienced woodworker and might not have any means of sharpening something, so trying it the way it came is a valid experiment. I then go on to perform a complete tune-up. So I think I accomplished exactly the video I set out to make.

[@chuckyz2]

Didnt see any sheets. Only chips and dust. And after reviewing the comments and seeing you did a sharpness test after that very short planing session, and the blade had already faltered, I have to conclude it was a complete waist of time other than helping others who may consider buying one with high hopes. I wouldnt take it for free.

[@amezcuaist]

These are good planes .Careless setup and bad sharpening will always fail. Do it properly and these planes are great .

[@chuckyz2]

@@amezcuaist All the work you have to do it to make it good makes it a p.o.s. I would just buy the blades from Japan and make my own block. Why waist time on cheap, poorly made shit.

[@uncletoy774]

theres this thing call you tube it has videos on how to hold and pull them check it out you can learn a lot and put ur finger behind the blade......damn really guy

[@wickedmessenger1]

You tube? Never heard of it.

[@uncletoy774]

lol me either

[@carloantoniomartinelli5418]

I fully agree with Yiyong Leng, here below, in that this plane is CHINESE and not as you say Japanese... 'Same difference' you say ? Hong Kong in Japan ? So what, they all look alike after all huh ? But the part of this video, that I like the most, is all the time you have expended showing us what a sealed parcel from Hong Kong looks like AND how one goes about opening it ( ! ) A rather complelx and brainy operation I must say, but thank you for showing it to us : I have been wondering for some time how it is done. Now I know... Never mind fettling the plane itsel - THAT is what one calls 'tuning a plane', by the way - virtually anybody can do THAT.

[@wickedmessenger1]

Sorry you don't like the video. I think I made my motives and methods clear in the dialog of the video and I said then that I had absolutely no experience with those planes. Since then I have had very helpful feedback from many viewers who expanded my knowledge of the differences between Chinese and Japanese planes. I have no way of editing the video to improve it, nor do I have any interest in doing so. I like the video and it has proven to be very popular. I hope some day you get ugly, pointless feedback on something you created just for fun and you think back to the way you lashed out at me to hurt my feelings for no other reason than to be ugly and derisive. I would think the fact that we're all trying to make sense out of the world and our lives and we're all alive for only a short time would make us want to be kind to each other. But somehow your first impulse is to be vicious. Virtually anybody can do THAT.

[@howwanpeng8753]

Yes, it’s definitely a Chinese plane!

[@amezcuaist]

I got my genuine Japanese plane working yesterday .The one with a slanted blade. That works beautifully and so does my Mujinfang tiny one .