KAKURI Japanese Hand Plane 42mm for Woodworking, Kanna Small Block Plane Mini Hand Planer for Wood Chamfering and Smoothing, 5.9 x 2.1 x 1.6 inches, ECO Oak Body, Made in Japan

It;s a long way from Japan so I wasn't bothered by the delivery time. Even so, it arrived well within the stated period with no damage. I had done some research and was prepared to spend some hours fettling the plane before use but it took a lot less than I expected. The white oak dai was almost perfect. Just a little scraping on the blade bed and guide channels; the sole was almost flat and took just a quick rub with sandpaper and using a scraper to get the relief. The chip breaker needed a bit filed off one corner to lie flat on the blade which is about twice as thick as a western blade. I went through the grits from 400 to 6000 to remove a few tool marks and get a mirror finish on the bevel and the hollow ground back. Adjustment was quite easy although it did initially feel weird hitting a tool with a hammer! I tested it on pine (clear and knotty) and oak and the results were truly amazing. Full width cuts, mirror smooth surfaces and translucent shavings. Not bad for my first attempt. This will be my go to plane for small projects in future. I may even get a bigger one for Christmas! The lack of English instructions was not a problem as there is a wealth of Youtube info on setting up and using these planes.

The media could not be loaded. Okay - I've added a good number of images and a video to help with this review. I regret not having taken a shot of the blade before I started sharpening...As with all Japanese planes this one needed some work to get it to a useful condition. given it's price this could have had 5 stars but for one issue, something I think is really important. You'll see in the photos that the cutting blade, when inserted into the dai without the chip breaker, extends beyond the sole of the dai! This is only dropped in, not tapped. The issue - the edges of the blade were very rough and needed a little filing to clean them up, that and honing of the back, clening shavings from the wedge etc all combinded to leave the blade a very loose fit, the amount of wood I had to remove to get the blade to sit flat was less than a very fine shaving, so it's not that too much wood was removed. the slots that hold the blade also needed widening a little, again this is normal and allows for lateral adjustment of the blade.The blade itself is ok and as you can see fro mthe video it can be brought to a really good edge, this took about an hour of honing from 300 grit to get a good flat bevel through to 7000 grit for polishing. The hollow ground on the back isn't the best and could have been improved with a little hammering out, I just didn't bother. Same with the chip breaker, though that also had the problem that the edge wasn't square to the sides so that took a little more work with the 300 diamond plate. Once done there was just a little adjustment to the ears to bring it to sit nicely with the blade.Because the blade is so loose the chip breaker is required to hold the blade in place, not a massive issue I guess but Japanese planes should be usable with or without the chip breaker in place. The chip breaker in this one is essentially now a back iron that holds the blade in situ. I might address this by inserting some tiny hardwood edges into the slots to close them up and then refile them to fit the blade properly, though it does work very well as is. Yours may not suffer these issues at all as I suspect quality contol and consistency is a bit hit and miss on planes at this end of the market (It's relatively cheap for a kanna)The dia itself was pretty much set up ready to go with the 2 high points of the sole in place, as I decided to sand the base to ensure it was perfectly flat I then needed to hollow out the sole to bring back the 2 high spots - if you don't know what I mean by this there are many really good setup videos on the tube that explain it, basically the plane rides on 2 high spots of the sole to minimise drag.The sides were square to the sole so needed no work.I pulled shaving from a piece of softwood, both along the edge and also the width of the board, these can be seen in the photos. I also pulled on a piece of reclaimed (very dry) mahogany and a piece of reclaimed oak. Both worked well though I needed to (lightly) tap the blade out a little more for a deeper cut.All said for what this kanna costs it's great value. IF you have no idea how to set one up and expect it to work out of the box (it came in a bag) then you'll be disappointed and frustrated, this would be so even if you spent 10 times as much though. With some very basic carpentry skills this can be made to work really well, you need patience!I have many planes, old wooden ones, transitional types and typical iron western planes as well as kanna, this is a nice little addition and I feel it was money well spent.Would I buy another one? Yes I belive I would...

The block is as pictured and simple in execution. The piece is of good quality and the blade arrived sharp and in great condition. The only trick is the resetting of blades, while there are picture progression youtube has a detailed english walk through. I found the plane handy and a handy addition to a tool set.

This plane came with problems, but nothing an hour of fettling didn't sort out. That said, I have bought far more expensive planes with far worse problems.The back of the blade wasn't flat - there was a slight hollow behind one side of the cutting-edge; nothing various grades of wet & dry abrasive paper couldn't solve. The chip-breaker needed a little refinement, as did the blade-bed and the sole. There are plenty of youtube videos that show you what to do about all of these issues.After following all the advice, I had a plane that takes even, translucent shavings. It works well on the push or pull stroke. Franky, for the money, this is brilliant little plane. It may only be small, but I've put it through the paces and it pretty much does everything you'd expect from a good jack plane.

Think all ok, as not heard anything wring with it!

simply superb. blade is laminated, top quality, sharp from manufacture just little honing on fine stone/strop for rmazor sharp edge- may be remined kannas are sold unset so you need to set body for the intended task (bench/smoother)realy happy with it will get some more for sure as it is really versatile nice and very useful.