World-class infill planes made by hand in Canada

Woodworking tool history is being made right now in Canada by an astonishing two-man tool company called Sauer & Steiner Toolworks. This may seem an extreme claim, but reserve judgment until you've heard the whole story. I think you'll agree when you see what's happening.

Joe Steiner, 47, and Konrad Sauer, 31, are both superb woodworkers with a love for traditional tools, especially hand planes. They met in 2001 at a wood show, and immediately became friends in a way that only people who share the same deep interest can understand. During a conversation shortly after that meeting , the two men considered a simple question: "Could we build infill planes to the same standard as the legendary British toolmakers Spiers and Norris did in the mid-1800s?" The answer is yes.

Infill planes are made using a combination of exotic woods, steel and manganese bronze, and are generally regarded as the pinnacle of the plane-making craft. So precious are original infill planes that almost all now sit idle and on display, a fact that concerns the two new Canadian toolmakers. "Many of these unused old planes helped make the finest antiques we have," explains Sauer. "The fact that they've ended up in curio cabinets almost seems a shame." It would be wonderful to have top-quality infill planes in everyday use in the workshop."

The men have responded to this wish by building authentic infill planes of the highest quality, entirely by hand, following the same techniques perfected by the original champions of these tools. And as someone who has used several Sauer & Steiner planes on particularly challenging hardwood, I can assure you they've succeeded. I didn't think it was possible for a plane to work so well.

Sauer & Steiner decided to build Spiers-type planes, ranging in price from $450 to $1800 depending on the model. And the first thing you notice as you hold one is the flawless fit and finish. Perfection like this would even be striking in a manufactured item. But then reality gets hard to appreciate when you realize that all parts of these planes were cut and fitted using hand tools only. Even the 3/16-inch thick metal components that form the sides and bottom of the planes are fitted together with hand-cut dovetail joints, fashioned using nothing more than a hacksaw, file and peining hammer.

"We thought it very important to recreate the working environment Spiers operated in, and this turned out to offer a valuable lesson. We learned a great deal about the construction process as a result -- where to make important cuts, where we had a little margin for error, and more importantly, how to assemble a perfectly square infill shell around a hardwood body."

This attention to detail isn't just fanaticism, either. In order to create a plane that both appears flawless and performs perfectly under tough conditions, many tiny details must be addressed and mastered. In several places the difference between ideal planing performance and mediocrity is just a few thousandths of an inch either way.

Konrad Sauer and Joe Steiner have the skill, commitment and integrity to make a big mark in tool history with their hand-made planes. And as you can imagine, it doesn't take many orders to keep them occupied. Their slate is currently full, so please understand that I'm not trying to sell you on anything. It just seems important that Canadian's ought to know about world-class toolmaking that's happening here at home, before the rest of the world does. It's been a little more than a year since Sauer and Steiner officially unveiled their tools publicly, and experienced woodworkers twice their age are astonished. They don't know what to make of the accomplishment. How can people so young do so much? Which just goes to show that the most interesting part of life is that its limits can always be expanded at least a little farther than you'd think.