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Be Honest About Your Inspiration – or Else
My post is less about product design, but rather about authenticity in branding. I too was turned off from Wood River because they felt dishonest, but for a different reason. It's my understanding that the manufacturer sells the planes under the name 'Quangsheng' outside the US (which I believe means 'total victory'). I have no problems with a plane made in Asia - but now 'Wood River' feels contrived, alienating and creepy, like faux shutters that aren't even sized for the window. Taytools is now importing planes from India. Setting aside the fact that they're less expensive than Wood River, I'd sooner by the humdrum appearing Taytools because it doesn't pretend to be an heirloom or make conceits of heritage. There's dignity in self disclosure.
One thing I failed to mention that if their planes were sold in the US under 'Quangsheng' I would have no problem buying them. I bought quite a number of tools from upstarts imported from Asian factories, provided the quality is there.
The tools are sold under a variety of names all over the world. No matter the name, they outright copied the Lie-Nielsens. I'm not saying that's illegal (some people see nothing wrong with it). But it is the reason I won't recommend the planes. They copied. They misled people about it. Sorry – those two strikes finishes it for me.
At the time the Wood River tools were released, a lot of folks defended them, saying that Lie Nielsen had copied Stanley, so why shouldn't Woodcraft? Well, Bedrock planes and Stanley chisels had been off the market for many decades, and no one had produced them since. Lie Nielsen took time and money to improve the Stanley designs, and market new, improved tools. Woodcraft literally just sent Lie Nielsen planes to be copied as-is. The foundry marks on Lie Nielsen tools showed up on Wood River castings. I would never buy a tool from a company that did that. I don't care what name their marketing division chose to slap on it.
What do you think of Armada Design - https://www.armadany.com/gen-dining-table - fairly close, aye?
Hi Rafi,
I think they did a nice job of refining my design (if that's where they started). Personally, I'm open source about my designs and don't get worked up by copying. People steal from me every day, either designs or copyrights. As an individual, I can spend all my energy chasing the scofflaws, or focus on new designs.
Thanks for the comment!
What do you think of Armada Design - https://www.armadany.com/gen-dining-table