Comparing the Louet Jane & the Ashford Table Looms

Read my entire review of the Ashford 16-shaft here

Read my entire review of the Louet Jane here

I own both the Louet Jane 40 8-shaft and the Ashford 16-shaft table looms and I thought I'd share my unbiased comparison of both! I have not been paid or compensated for this review - it's just my honest opinion!

Front view of both the Louet Jane 40 (left) and Ashford 16-shaft (right)

Louet Jane 40 Pros

• Small foot print about 21" wide, 30" long and 26" high

• Portable @ 23 lbs

• Elegant look and feel

• Large shed

• Levers give a satisfying “thwunk” when released

• Large weaving area before you need to advance the warp

• Decent tension

• Gears/brakes are metal

• Beater bar swings out of the way for dressing

• Beater bar clicks back towards castle to create wider shed and more weaving space before warp advancement

• Straight forward assembly

• Apron rods/sticks are tied on to warp and cloth beam with Texsolv cord (included)

• Warp sticks are included

• Built in raddle.

Louet Jane 40 Cons

• Limited to 8 shafts

• Sides of shafts are plastic (seems cheap - longevity?)

• Elastic shaft cords (longevity?)

• Levers take some effort to switch

• Levers are not wide

• Reed is secured by velcro on beater bar (longevity?)

• Heddles take some effort to slide on shafts

• Only comes with enough heddles for 25 per shaft

• Resting shuttles slide off warp and launch over breast bream due to angle of open shed during beating

Ashford 16-Shaft Pros

• 16 shafts!

• Levers are very easy to switch

• Levers are wide and easy to grab

• Shaft bars are metal and shaft sides are wood

• Robust/solid appearance

• Pins hold beater bar towards breast beam during dressing

• Reed is secured by bolts on beater bar

• Heddles slide easily on shafts

• Two shuttle sticks are included

• Includes enough heddles for 80 per shaft

• Resting shuttles do not slide off of warp on open shed during beating

Ashford 16-Shaft Cons

• Not portable at 40 lbs

• Large footprint at 28” wide, 36” deep and 22" tall

• Smaller shed

• "Ok" tension

• Need to advance the warp more often

• Tricky procedure to advance the warp

• Gears/brakes are not metal - (longevity?)

• Tricky to set up heights of shafts during assembly

• Leavers loudly smack on to the wood when released (need rubber/felt stoppers)

• Included string to tie on the apron rods to both warp and cloth beams are wimpy

• Need to purchase a raddle

Louet Final Thoughts.....

I love this loom. I love the elegant look and feel to it. I love the satisfying noise the levers make when released. I appreciate the large shed, having to advance the warp less often and the slightly tighter tension. It truly is portable for me. I wish Louet made a 16 shaft version! The only downside is I worry about the longevity of some of the parts - the plastic sides of the shafts, the elastic cords and the velcro on the beater bar.

Ashford Final Thoughts.....

I also love this loom. I think you get more value for your money with it. I love having 16 shafts to use which has increased my learning potential exponentially. I appreciate the loom’s robust and strong look/feel and the ease of switching levers. The biggest downside for me is how big and heavy this table loom is and the slightly lesser tension. I am disappointed that it is not more portable.

The bottom line - I would be more than happy with either one of these looms! If portability is important I would choose the Louet, if 16 shafts is important go for the Ashford.

Back View of both the Ashford 16-shaft (left) and Louet Jane 40 (right)

Top view of both the Ashford 16-shaft (left) and the Louet Jane 40 (right) table looms

Side view of both the Ashford 16-shaft (right) and the Louet Jane 40 (left) table looms

Front view of the Ashford 16-shaft table loom

Side view of the Ashford 16-shaft table loom

Front view of the Louet Jane 40 table loom

Side view of the Louet Jane 40 table loom

Do you own either of these looms? Would love to hear your experiences or questions in the comments!