Konrad Sauer improves a 150-year-old handplane design.
by Christopher Schwarz
pages 50-54
From the April 2012 Issue, #196
Let’s say you were good at building Chippendale highboys. Really good. Phil-Lowe-kind-of-good at it. Customers came to you regularly and you had plenty of work to keep you busy.
Then why – oh why – would you try to reinvent that highboy?
That’s the kind of question that many traditionalists are asking about planemaker Konrad Sauer, who has successfully made a living for more than 10 years as a custom toolmaker. Since Sauer opened his doors for business on Jan. 2, 2001, his bread and butter has been building infill jointer, panel and smoothing planes (plus other traditional forms) that are firmly rooted in the British infill tradition.
Web sites: Visit Sauer & Steiner’s web site and read Konrad Sauer’s blog.
Video: Watch our video of Sauer discussing the design of the K13.
Article: Read an early profile of Sauer’s work.
In our store: “Handplane Essentials” (Popular Woodworking Books) by Christopher Schwarz, available in both print and a DRM-free digital PDF format. Read more
