Router plane revolution

Words and photos: Raf Nathan

A router plane is basically a small chisel held in a frame with the chisel able to be raised or lowered. A large flat base offers great support for hogging out the bottoms of joints, and for making inlays and tuning tenon cheeks. A router plane is a great tool and a favourite of mine to use.

Early router planes were called an ‘old womans tooth’ with a protruding blade that was wedged in a block of wood. Usually shop made by the maker, some were quite sophisticated.  Later in the 1800s metal-bodied panes appeared from manufacturers such as Stanley, Record and Preston. Record and Stanley both called their similar looking models the 071.Today we have other brands of router planes such as Lie-Nielsen and Veritas, both of whom make excellent industry standard planes.

The mechanical issue with a router plane is holding the blade and allowing vertical rise and fall. The Lie-Nielsen and Veritas tools have the blade bevel-up and vertically mounted, secured in a machined way, and held with a collar and screw.

New on the market are three new router planes, all using a different system for blade holding and adjustment with two having the blade bevel-down. All plane prices quoted include a fence, except for the Cowryman.

Cowryman 038

Cowryman is a new woodworking toolmaker who offer a range of router planes in various sizes. Priced at US$119, the 038 is the premium 150mm wide base version that has a 5.6mm thick stainless steel base which is laser cut with two nicely turned ebony handles.

Chinese-made Cowryman 038 router plane

The blade is interesting – an 8 x 8mm square ground to a bevel at one end. The blade sits bevel-down at 45° in a block of stainless steel. This block is beautifully machined – and given the hard material, this is no mean feat to achieve.

Blade adjustment is with a threaded rod and locks with a knob. This plastic knob is the only letdown in the whole build of the plane as it is a parts bin item. The position of the knob is good for securely locking the blade but it blocks your view when cutting. Other Cowryman planes have a locking knob at the rear however I think this position is more secure with the trade-off being reduced vision.

Clockwise from above: View of the flat stainless steel Cowryman base, showing the steel block that holds the blade, and the Cowryman blade that is ground from a steel bar.

There is a tiny bearing under the knob to apply pressure and this works well but it can fall out when removing the blade. Remember to invert the tool when you remove the blade. There is also a grub screw that can be adjusted for extra blade locking. There are 6mm and 3mm wide blades also available.

The blade arrives ground at 28° and lapped to a razor sharp. It held its edge well in a variety of timbers during testing and was easy to re-sharpen. There is a lot of backlash in the adjustment but it is fast to move the blade. Apart from softening the sharp edges on the steel base, the plane arrives ready to use with the base flat. A fence is available as an extra.

Hongdui KM-17 Pro

American Jonathan Katz-Moses partnered with Chinese toolmaker Hongdui to create this premium router plane which currently sells for US$209. When it came out a couple of years ago there was a bit of an internet storm wherein it was said that it was a straight up rip-off of the Veritas design. And Katz-Moses copped a bit of flack.

Hongdui KM-17 Pro router plane

Can I say that it is not a copy of the Veritas? It certainly is based on it, as the angled wood handles are identical and the fence is similar. As far as I can tell, angled handles on router planes were an innovation introduced by Veritas. More importantly, the KM-17 has is its own unique and very good blade holding and height adjustment mechanism. This is an original and good design.

Showing the fence and flatness of the KM-17 base

The base is made with what Hongdui call ‘die steel’ and it is beautifully machined and perfectly flat. The plane comes standard with two 4.3mm thick removable blades 1/2" wide and ground to 25°, one is a straight blade and the other a spear point. The spear point is said to be better for endgrain work, although for me I find the straight blade better as an all-rounder. The blades fix with an Allen key into a machined way. Narrower blades are available separately.

The blade height adjustment mechanism is via two guide rods and a central threaded rod that an aluminium block moves on for height changes. A large rear knob secures the blade while a top-mounted dial knob changes height with virtually zero backlash. You can adjust the height without releasing the lower knob so adjustments are made on the fly and very quickly. A tiny camlock stop is for repeat measurements.

Above left: The KM-17 has its own unique blade holding and adjustment mechanism. Right: The depth gauge works very well.

Small blades as in this tool are tricky to hold and sharpen, however screwing the cutter onto the included holder lets you sharpen the small blade safely, just as you can with the Veritas. The holder doubles up as a marking knife with the spear point blade.

The blades are M2 steel, also known as HSS, and known for its abrasion and shock resistance in cutting tools. It is harder and hence slower to sharpen than A2 steel which is commonly found in woodwork chisels and planes.

With M2, the theory is that it is slower to sharpen but the edge lasts longer. Some woodworkers argue that M2 won’t take as fine an edge though and is hence never quite as sharp as A2 steel. I found the blade ground to 25° but not sharp, however it honed easily on waterstones to a razor edge.

The tool has a depth gauge reading in imperial and metric. You lower the blade to make contact on the wood and set the gauge at zero. One turn of the top- mounted height adjustment knob is 1mm. This feature works really well.

The reversible fence is very good, although it is overall 30mm deep so will catch on thinner boards. The brass locking knob for positioning locks from below and needs to be locked tight.

Melbourne Tool Company large router plane

Like the Cowryman, this plane uses a hefty one-piece bevel-up blade. The blade is set into a beautifully machined groove with a bed angle of 50°. In this case the blade is fixed by a pressure plate held with two knurled brass knobs. The depth of cut is adjusted by loosening the pressure plate a tad and turning the brass knob which spins on a steel thread.

Melbourne Tool Co large router plane

The body of the plane is cast iron and the base was ground perfectly flat. There are two nicely turned wood handles fixed vertically to the base.

The MTC base is nicely machined.

The 1/2" wide blade is 10mm thick M2 steel ground with a 30° bevel. Narrower blades are available. In use the blade is pretty quick to remove and replace, and I found it easy to sharpen to a razor edge using waterstones. Other width blades are available. A brass depth-stop collar is a handy addition for repeat cut depths.

Above left: The MTC blade locks with two knobs and a pressure plate. Above right: The blade sits in a machined groove.

The included aluminium fence is double- sided with the concave face suited to following curved work. The fence uniquely fixes from above so it is excellent for adjusting it quickly although you need an Allen key to lock it. The fence only hangs down 12mm so unlike other planes it does not foul on thinner boards. Whilst made in China, like the Hongdui KM-17 and the Cowryman Pro, it is Australian designed and owned, and priced at $249.

Veritas large router plane

Overview of the author’s long serving Veritas large router plane.

The Veritas is my trusted user plane of many years so it is here as a reference tool. It uses the Stanley concept for height adjustment and does it very well. Various blades are available with narrow ones made as a single cranked piece of steel. It comes with two 1/2" ground to 30° blades like the KM-17.

Showingthe Veritas blade holding and adjustment mechanism.

There is some backlash in the rise and fall which is slow to use. Veritas use high carbon steel for the blades which in my experience sharpens well and holds its edge. The fence does hang 30mm low and like the KM-17 catches on thin pieces of wood. Overall this is a very good tool.

In summary

All plane blades were initially honed to razor sharp and then used on a variety of woods. After using all the planes for a while it was interesting to note that for some processes the Cowryman was a go-to tool. It sailed through small scale work and I have
to recommend it as easy to use with the blade retaining its edge well. Its downside is the uncomfortable vertical handles with protruding screws. It is reasonably priced, and being small, is easy to use with quick blade removal and sharpening.

The Hongdui KM-17 is always going to win on height adjustment. You just turn the top knob and advance or retract the blade. It is a good system.

The MTC blade adjustment is basic but quick and easy to use. You plane for a while, loosen one knob and adjust depth, and lock again. The MTC blade had very good edge holding ability. The MTC plane is a fine woodwork tool perhaps not as comfortable with the vertical handles. It has the largest base so I felt it the best for large panel work.

The Veritas blade system makes removal slow particularly with narrower blades. However that’s what the Stanley and Lie- Nielsen also use with the blade held in a collar system. My long term experience with this plane has been nothing but good and it is a pleasure to use.

Given the prices of the planes the MTC is probably best value for money, while the KM-17 is the one that I want.

Review tools supplied by Carbatec (Veritas): www.carbatec.com.au Cowryman 038: www.cowryman.com Hongdui KM-17 Pro: www.hongduitools.com Melbourne Tool Company: www.timbecon.com.au

First published in Australian Wood Review, issue 122. Prices quoted were current at March 2024. Check prices with retailers.

Raf Nathan is a Brisbane based woodworker who makes furniture and other objects to order. Contact him via Instagram @treeman777