"I really like where that discussion could go - we could have its own thread for it (we have, sort of) - and something I've oft debated with 'traditional' woodworkers (ones who can sometimes border on luddites (in a good way) - is the question of is the Japanese plane a 'truer' simple man's tool over the western style plane?"
Everytime I see a comment like this I feel compelled to say something (and usually I don't). I'm not clear on whether you are aware of this or not Mike, but, in regards to the Luddites, they were not anti-technology or anti-modern. They were anti-factory. They fought against the loss of a traditional craft livelihood, the de-skilling of their trade and its replacement by low paid unskilled factory labor, often women and children, working in appalling conditions.
Those timber framers who have an affinity for traditional carpentry, though they may employ circular saws, lasers and the like, and do not make it a habit to smash equipment at the local Hundegger facility, share much sentiment with the Luddites I suspect, in terms of wanting to preserve a craft and work tradition.
The Luddites lost their battle against industrialism, and now that struggle, whether one agrees with smashing looms or not, is often simplistically characterized as being akin to tilting at windmills. There was a time where it was an open question whether society would/could/should entirely re-orient itself around industrial concerns and interests, but that is so far in the past most today cannot conceive of another reality than the heavily industrialized society we inhabit today.
The looms the Luddites smashed, I might add, were specifically the sort of looms that cheapened the work and allowed the unskilled to produce. Other types of looms which required a skilled operator were not smashed or burned, as these sort of looms were the same as those found in the Luddites own home shops.
Not to condone their actions, but the picture was a good deal more complex than the simple equation of Luddite = 'knuckle-dragging technophobe' commonly trotted out (and I'm not saying that was necessarily your intimation Mike).
There's nothing simple about a Japanese plane, BTW, other than its minimum of components. You're right, that is perhaps best made into another thread.
