Howdy,
Check out the newest addition to their line of planes:
First impression: It is massive; just the sort of heft that lends itself to really hugging the work.
The heft also worried me a bit, as it took a bit of time to get the hang of gripping the plane. I like the wooden knobs on it versus brass; great idea to add one at the toe. The tilting rear knob is extremely handy and comfortable to use. Also, there are angled, tapped holes on either side near the front so that the front knob can be set at an upward angle in use. Nice touch, that.
I played around a bit with how the finger-hole can best come into play. Found that it works nicely when holding the plane upright with the middle finger in the hole. I also played around a bit using my thumb. One negative: The sharp edge on the inside of the hole could be a bit painful for extended use. I suggested they might want to bevel the inside like the outside is, but understand that could be cost-prohibitive.
The sliding toe-piece adjustment is great. Simple and very precise. Combined with the side set-screws and the Norris-style adjuster, it was very easy to get an extremely light cut with a very small mouth opening, and do so repeatedly. (I still think the side-screws may be the best enhancement LV/Veritas came up with. For someone who likes to hone his irons often, it takes any doubt out of my mind that I can get things set up in a split-second just like they were before I removed the iron.)
I'm wondering if the clamping mechanism could be made with a slightly larger screw. It's not necessarily a problem as it is, but it might be a bit more comfortable in use. (But I expect that could cause problems by extending past the sides.)
OK, now my overall impressions of it in use. I didn't have any tenons to trim, so I just used it on endgrain. Without any honing, and only a bit of adjustment, it was taking perfect endgrain shavings in oak and figured maple. I also tried it on pine to see if it could handle the soft stuff without terrible breakout at the end of the cut. It was great.
The mass was very handy, and the combination of two knobs plus the fingerhole really does seem to give me some decent alternatives for gripping the plane as it's used in various positions. I am not experienced with large shoulder planes; the only thing I have to compare it to is the L-N large plane, which I have played around with for a total of 30 minutes or so. But I must say, the LV plane is much easier to handle. With the L-N plane I couldn't figure out where to put my hands to get a secure grip, while with this one it's a matter of choosing the best alternative grip. It was actually pretty easy to control once I experimented with different grips a bit.
The iron is nice and beefy, and came well-sharpened (though I'll probably hone it a bit more before using it on any projects). The fit and finish were quite good, especially for a pre-production plane.
Priced at $169, this is definitely an outstanding buy. Those who have been considering the high-end L-N shoulder plane would be well-advised to look closely at the Veritas plane first.
Chuck Vance (no affiliation, etc.)