whats the nicest hand plane you have used/ favourite

[tobytools]

I just wanted to brag that i used a holtey infill smoothing plane today
I say this with confidence because I also used a Norris A1, several Stanley bedrock's and lie Neilson 4.5, 6,7 and shooter plane, t&g you name it
happy boy

 

[Reggie]

This should be interesting, I'm looking at getting my first plane, I won't lie, it will be as cheap as possible, stanley no4 seems to be very popular, so it will be interesting to see how highly/lowly people regard them against other brands.

 

[G S Haydon]

I have only really used a #4 "Bailey" type plane (Record & Stanley) to any great extent. They seem to work very well indeed. I have not had experience of other types apart from messing about with wooden planes and an old infill. Have not used them enough to accurately contrast performance.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

This should be interesting, I'm looking at getting my first plane, I won't lie, it will be as cheap as possible, stanley no4 seems to be very popular, so it will be interesting to see how highly/lowly people regard them against other brands.

A No4 or No4 1/2 won't cost more than £5 - £7 at a car boot. DO NOT BUY A NEW ONE. They are excrement on a stick.

 

[Jelly]

Marples "Shamrock" Foreplane, a woodie at that... It just fits my hands perfectly and a joy to use.

 

[Benchwayze]

My LN Block/rebate plane. Does more than it says on the tin.

 

[Reggie]

This should be interesting, I'm looking at getting my first plane, I won't lie, it will be as cheap as possible, stanley no4 seems to be very popular, so it will be interesting to see how highly/lowly people regard them against other brands.

A No4 or No4 1/2 won't cost more than £5 - £7 at a car boot. DO NOT BUY A NEW ONE. They are excrement on a stick.

I take it you mean the new ones are not very good?

 

[tobytools]

This should be interesting, I'm looking at getting my first plane, I won't lie, it will be as cheap as possible, stanley no4 seems to be very popular, so it will be interesting to see how highly/lowly people regard them against other brands.

If its you first plane and will be your only plane for while U should get a 5 or 5.5 as they are the all rounders smoother/jack. But it depends what you want it goe (stupid question I know)
I restore hand planes myself to a useable condition but its time consuming if you do it right.
If your getting a 4 the go a bit bigger with the 4.5 as they are nicer tools and I like the weight.
Then again I like my cheap acorn hand plane

 

[hanser]

My favourite is the Stanley No3. It was my late fathers only plane and he taught me some of the fundamentals of woodwork. I find it very versatile, nice and light and can be used single handed.

 

[rdesign]

my clifton number 5 and a half is lovely but good it costs enough to be lovely. used a 5 lee neilson low angle its a lovely lovely plane.

 

[Jacob]

3, 4, 5, all nice to use. I've got a Clifton 4 now my only "posh"plane and yes it is good. But so is my Record 4.
If the need arises I really like the Stanley 78. It is much maligned but once you get the hang of it it goes really well

PS and if the need arises the ECE scrub is brilliant. Very satisfying high speed ripping off those thick shavings - makes you wonder why they are so unfashionable (thick shavings that is)

 

[Reggie]

This should be interesting, I'm looking at getting my first plane, I won't lie, it will be as cheap as possible, stanley no4 seems to be very popular, so it will be interesting to see how highly/lowly people regard them against other brands.

If its you first plane and will be your only plane for while U should get a 5 or 5.5 as they are the all rounders smoother/jack. But it depends what you want it goe (stupid question I know)
I restore hand planes myself to a useable condition but its time consuming if you do it right.
If your getting a 4 the go a bit bigger with the 4.5 as they are nicer tools and I like the weight.
Then again I like my cheap acorn hand plane

Pretty much the normal things you might want to do with a plane, straighten edges, shooting? mitres, bit of truing up etc.

 

[tobytools]

This should be interesting, I'm looking at getting my first plane, I won't lie, it will be as cheap as possible, stanley no4 seems to be very popular, so it will be interesting to see how highly/lowly people regard them against other brands.

If its you first plane and will be your only plane for while U should get a 5 or 5.5 as they are the all rounders smoother/jack. But it depends what you want it goe (stupid question I know)
I restore hand planes myself to a useable condition but its time consuming if you do it right.
If your getting a 4 the go a bit bigger with the 4.5 as they are nicer tools and I like the weight.
Then again I like my cheap acorn hand plane

Pretty much the normal things you might want to do with a plane, straighten edges, shooting? mitres, bit of truing up etc.

Then a 5 or 5.5 would be best as a 4 isn't the best for shooting ect. So all in all and 5 is your best bet

 

[Corneel]

Your first plane probably should be a #4. Very versatile thing and there are so many available, they are dirt cheap.
From there you just expand the range one by one. A #7 is good to have, a #5 too. Then some joinery planes.

The Stanley #4 is probably still my favorite. Allthough I really like woodies too, so it's hard to name a favorite. Hogging off material with a wooden foreplane is epiphanic too. I've never used a new benchplane, so I can't compare.

 

[rxh]

My favorite is still the first plane I bought, many years ago - a Record No. 5 1/2.

 

[baldpate]

I must admit to a predilection for planes that are able take the finest of shavings from difficult wood. So my current favourites would both be Records (both oldish, but not ancient) - one a 09 ½ block plane, and the other an 04 ½ bench plane. It isn't that one needs this capability very often, but the fact that a plane is able to do so means that it is a finely-tuned instrument - and it is always a pleasure to use a fine instrument of any sort.

If, instead, I was asked what is the most appropriate starter plane, I would go with what others have a said - a No 5 or No 4 (second hand, with a bit of age on it).

 

[wizard]

I have a few old stanley plane but most of the time i use my old Milbro

 

[Scouse]

This thread is an interesting example of the often quite personal, even intimate relationships woodworkers have with their tools (behave yourselves, you know what I mean!), planes especially.

I have 2 expensive jointers, (LN and Veritas) and they have their place, but I still reach for an early (pre First World War) type 11 Stanley No 8 with so much pitting, there's more hole than sole! Does the job though, no fuss, just does it. Original blade, no fancy steel, no frog adjuster. A grand old girl.

I do think of how many other craftsmen have used it and what they have made as I am using it; sentimental I know, but I'm not the only pro woodworker to think that way. In the recent BBC4 series on woodcarving, a modern day carver (could have been Chris Pye but don't quote me) was using old gouges with the names of previous owners stamped into the handles; he said the old tools meant something to them because they had a weight of history within them.

I wonder if this is unique to woodworkers, or if mechanics, fitters, boilermakers, indeed any craftsman has 'favourites' or just see their tools as things they use for work?

El.

 

[Vann]

A No4 or No4 1/2 won't cost more than £5 - £7 at a car boot. DO NOT BUY A NEW ONE. They are excrement on a stick.

I take it you mean the new ones are not very good?

Yes, he means new Stanleys are not very good. It's a quality control issue: there's a slim chance you'll get a reasonable one, and a very good chance you'll get a crapper.

My favourite planes would be: my Veritas LAJ - showed me that I can plane!!; my beaten up Record 04ss (with broken side wing) for general work; my Cliffee No.3 - for fine work.

Cheers, Vann

 

[Jelly]

Pretty much the normal things you might want to do with a plane, straighten edges, shooting? mitres, bit of truing up etc.

Then a 5 or 5.5 would be best as a 4 isn't the best for shooting ect. So all in all and 5 is your best bet

But a 4 is much better for general smoothing and working awkward grain round knots, (which if you're going to work with softwood, as some of reggie's other posts suggest; is going to be a frequent occurrence), and whilst a longer plane can prove helpful with shooting, any plane can do it and purpose built mitre planes tend to be quite small (the Norris A11 [and subsequent holtey version] are about 10" long).

I wonder if this is unique to woodworkers, or if mechanics, fitters, boilermakers, indeed any craftsman has 'favourites' or just see their tools as things they use for work?

I guess it depends, but I've met numerous people at steam-fairs and tractor pulling events who have an affinity for old tools for mechanical and metalwork (especially spanners)... In terms of fitters, they seem to be divided fairly evenly between people for whom it's just a job, and people who are endlessly tinkering for themselves and being paid to do so at work makes it all the better. Do boilermakers still exist outside of the NRM's workshops? I'd have assumed it would just be another facet of large scale welding/fabrication these days.