The New Jane Loom vs. the Kombo
June 1st, 2009 | 
Author:
Sorry it has taken so long to get to this. I’m not turning out to be the best blogger in the west. However, I would be happy to tell you the difference between the old and the new. The Louet Kombo has been evolving for about 20 years and the recent modifications are significant improvements.
1. The first improvement is the way the pattern shafts move. The new system was designed for a little table loom that Louet came out with a few years back called the W30. All the cords now run over rollers providing a marvelous action.
Because the rollers move there is never any wear and tear on the cords and no friction. The toggling action on the new loom is far superior to the Kombo.
2. The second improvement has to do with the overhead beater. I believe the Kombo was the first table loom to have an overhead beater which provides a great deal of control while beating due to the long arm action. On the Kombo the beater had to be held back by the weavers hand or with elastic bands on the arms to move it out of the shed while throwing the shuttle. The new Jane has little bumpers that keep it back out of the shed while throwing the shuttle. This has increased the shed size to 3″+ which is remarkable for a small table loom.
3. The loom folds slightly smaller than it did before, but the best part of this is that it locks in the folded position and a warp can be tensioned while the loom is folded so things don’t fly apart if you are going off to a workshop. 4. When it is folded it has a great leather handle that allows you to carry it like a brief case leaving your other hand free for important things like a coffee cup or yarn : )
In addition to these improvements the loom still has the greatest weaving distance in front of all table looms. It comes with a built in raddle and the beater swings over the top of the loom for easy threading. It has metal ratchets and cogs, not plastic.
All in all, it is just swell.
Thank you for your interest in the Jane and I hope you are able to wait,
Cheers,
the other jane
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Hi Scott,
Ah shucks, really this loom should be called the ” Jan(e)” because Jan Louet did most of the designing. I simply
took his already existing table loom called the Kombo and asked for modifications that would make it easier
for weavers to use. I had been watching weavers lumbering into my workshops trying to carry huge and heavy
table looms that left them with wrecked backs and sore fingers. Surely there had to be a better design.
The Kombo was so close it just needed a bit of tweaking.
The improvements are as follows:
When the loom is folded (even when warped) it locks closed and stays closed.
The toggles are on the front of the loom and have a heavenly action that is so kind to wrist and hand.
All the cords run over rollers so there is no wear and tear on them.
The beater stays out of the way to insure optimum shed which is approximately 4″.
The top of the beater is held in place with velcro so there are no wing-nuts to remove or loose.
The beater flips over the top of the loom for easy threading.
The loom has little feet that protect the wood from the floor when it is stored on it’s side.
All of the ratchets and pawls are metal so they will not break.
And one the best features is the handle. Jane comes with a leather carrying handle for easy transportation.
It was very sweet of Jan Louet to name the Jane after me, but she really is his baby.
Hope that answers your question.
Thanks for asking,
jane
Hi Jane,
I am about to purchase a used Louet 70 loom (it’s not the Kombo, but an older version of it). The price is right and it seems like the right thing to do(either I get it or they are dumping it). I am wondering if it can be upgraded to roller action and some of the fine features the Jane has. Do you think this would be possible? Thanks so much! I know nothing about Louet looms, except that the Jane looks like one fine loom.