I think it's the combination of shape and materials which create the desire. The use of gunmetal and rosweood certainly help evoke a feeling of quality and desireablilty. That, plus the comparative rarity. I've gone through sixty or so Norrises since the early 1980s and have owned almost all the models Norris made, with the exception of the mitre planes - built a collection, used them then sold off only to repeat the exercise a few years later :roll: . A lot of Norrises I seen have fairly ropey adjusters, and I sometimes wonder if getting a good one was luck of the draw, even when they were new, but the sheer heft of a 14-1/2in A1 panel plane coupled with that thick blade, and the fact that until Tom Lie-Nielsen and Veritas changed the ground rules there was nothing in anywhere near that league in terms of performance has generated this sort of mystique about them. Nowadays, if you compare them with the BU Veritas and low angle planes by L-N and Veritas it becomes obvious that they no longer hold the "quality crown" they once did, especially when you realise that the modern North American planes arguably have better ergonomics. I've become so worried about dropping my 1930s veteran, and now my sole remaining Norris, that I'm about to dispose of it - it will probably be replaced by a L-N 5-1/2 with a York pitch frog, but I'm not certain. Unlike the 1980s, when I acquired this plane from Geoff Entwistle, there is now a real choice in high performance planes.
I feel that Karl Holtey's planes are superb examples of the planemaker's art, but for me they are just too rich. In my eyes they are more a piece of art than a tool. but if yopu can afford one, why not? Even my missus finds them attractive - and she hates some of the tailed monsters I use :lol:
Scrit
