2 piece heel on a Kanilea

jazzbo · Apr 19, 2012

I'm considering buying this K1 Tenor and it has a stacked heel with mis-matched wood. I watched the Kanilea factory tour and the uke they were building had a one piece mahogany neck.

Is the grafted neck heel something new that they have started doing recently? I see Kanilea's Chinese made Islander has a stacked heel, as do most inexpensive ukes, but this took me by surprise.

thanks

keliiyama · Apr 19, 2012

Interesting~ Maybe there was flaw? Try and give Joe a call... He'll give you the best answer.

reckomstance · Apr 19, 2012

That's some very nice wood to have a patch with grain running the wrong direction. Never seen that before on a K-brand.

kapahulu50 · Apr 19, 2012

+1 for calling joe or Kristen, get the serial # off the sticker and they an tell you what's up w that heel

jazzbo · Apr 21, 2012

As recommended above, I spoke with Kristen since Joe was unavailable. What great advice y'all gave me, these folks are so nice it was just wonderful. They really want to assure customer satisfaction and I will have an incoming K1 tenor real soon. I intend to follow up and post pictures.

Thanks for the good advice,
Jazzbo

Rick Turner · Apr 21, 2012

Take a look at almost all Ramirez guitars...stacked heels and scarfed on pegheads...for guitars that cost way in excess of $6,000.00. It's called intelligent use of materials...

imabuddha · Apr 21, 2012

Rick Turner said:
...for guitars that cost way in excess of $6,000.00. It's called intelligent use of materials...

…and charging what the market will bear.

reckomstance · Apr 21, 2012

Originally Posted by Rick Turner

...for guitars that cost way in excess of $6,000.00. It's called intelligent use of materials...

Originally Posted by imabuddha

…and charging what the market will bear.

Right on, imabuddha!

Intelligent use of materials is only smart, if it will sell. There's lots of stacked heels, scarfed headstocks, and don't forget headstock wings, as pictured below.

I'm all for conservation, but I prefer to buy solid one piece necks. Let the market decide what's intelligent.

GX9901 · Apr 21, 2012

I've never seen a Kanile'a without a stacked heel, and both Kanile'as I've owned have stacked heels. I personally prefer one-piece necks for looks, but I think read somewhere on UU (I think in the luthier forum) that stacked heel is actually stronger (I have no idea if this is true or not). I also own a $2k Koa Works tenor with stacked heel, so it's not like a deal breaker for me in higher end ukes if the uke sounds good and looks good otherwise.

peewee · Apr 21, 2012

My K-1 tenor from 2006 has a stacked heel thicker than that. but that transverse grain is a little weird.

Kekani · Apr 21, 2012

reckomstance said:
That's some very nice wood to have a patch with grain running the wrong direction. Never seen that before on a K-brand.

Looks like its cut close to quarter to me. Probably couldn't tell until it was sanded down. It could've been called it a blemish and sold a little discounted. Real question is, how does it sound and play?

reckomstance said:
. . .but I prefer to buy solid one piece necks. . .

So, you purposely like cross grain in the headstock?

Aaron

bbycrts · Apr 21, 2012

I've owned 3 Kanile'as, all with stacked heels - but on my three the grain was matched so well it was hard to see the seam.

Nickie · Apr 21, 2012

I like the grain in that heel...

BlackBearUkes · Apr 21, 2012

reckomstance said:
Right on, imabuddha!

Intelligent use of materials is only smart, if it will sell. There's lots of stacked heels, scarfed headstocks, and don't forget headstock wings, as pictured below.

I'm all for conservation, but I prefer to buy solid one piece necks. Let the market decide what's intelligent.

View attachment 36661

There aren't many luthiers that will agree that a one piece neck is stronger than a stacked heel and scarfed headstock. I purposely avoid one peice necks because it is a waste of wood and it is also a weaker neck. Looks for the sake of looks is folly IMO.

bazmaz · Apr 21, 2012

My kanile'a tenor is a one piece neck.

And as someone who received a uke from a courier with a stacked heel, that was damaged, and split on that joint... Well, I say no more!

Rick Turner · Apr 21, 2012

Split on the joint indicates a bad glue joint, not a bad concept. Could have been the classic "starved glue joint"...either too little glue or too much pressure which literally drives out the glue.

Mopey · Apr 21, 2012

My K1 concert has a stacked heel. I have no problem with them personally. The only uke I ever had with a one piece neck was a Ken Timms. Makes no difference on the playing front. Looks a nice uke.

Doc_J · Apr 21, 2012

All the Kanile'a ukes I have had were of the stacked heel variety, some just looked like 1 piece of wood.
Here is an example: This a 3-piece heel.

reckomstance · Apr 22, 2012

Looks for the sake of looks is folly IMO.

Glad you said "IMO". I respect your opinion and I'm happy that you're content with stacked heels. OTOH, I hope you can respect my view as well. It's my money and I prefer to purchase one piece necks because they are more pleasing to my eye, the same reason that I like curly koa and the nearly perfect fit & finish of an expensive uke. I hope we are allowed to have different tastes here. Also, I've never needed more neck heel strength than what I have in my one piece neck instruments.

2 piece heel on a Kanilea

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