LN vs Clifton Plane?

Patriarch wrote in news:Xns967DE67E2C7Cpatriarchatcomcastdo@216.196.97.136:

No offense to Steve's fine planes, but I think that Wayne's are in a different league (as far as the 'pretty contest' goes, anyway). Prettier than L-N even. But I think if you really want to see pretty, check out Karl Holtey. You can buy a Norris A13 repro for the low low price of only $6500. (Hmm, might take a while to formulate a strategy for the missus on that one).

I agree with you. I think a replacement iron, like the Hock blades, are pretty important too. After final tweaking on my #3 it is handling all the woods I throw at it, including curly and birdseye. The only downside to it is that it doesn't really have enough weight, which makes it sort of slide unevenly as the figure density changes in the wood. I think a heavier plane like a 4.5 would be better, but lately I'm fascinated with the idea of infill smoothers. I'm working on an A13 repro (not as pretty as Holtey of course!) and the sole and sides are coming along well. Believe it or not one of the hardest things to make is the lever cap. #@$^% bronze is just so darned hard to cut.