Larry Jaques wrote:
On 7 Jul 2004 05:11:27 -0700, (Conan The Librarian)
calmly ranted:
When I first saw the totes on the Veritas I was not impressed.
They looked too clunky. Howver, when I started to use them I realized
that they are the most comfortable of all the planes I own. On the
models I have tried, it looks like they have actually extended the
totes a bit compared to the traditional Stanleys, and even on the
low-angle, there is a bit of extra room.
I remember thinking the same thing from the pictures but will have
to find someone locally with a Veritas plane so I can try it out.
You really should. I was reading on woodcentral that some folks
can't even bring themselves to use the Veritas planes because they think
the totes are so ugly. For me it's a no-brainer if I'd prefer to have a
lovely, semi-comfortable tote vs. an ugly tote that fits like a glove.
But then I *use* my planes. :-)
I have only one Hock iron and that came in the $10 #60-1/2 I picked
up from another Wrecker. The message you might remember was way back
when I had just learned ScarySharp(tm)ing and had actually been able
to put an edge on a cheaparse iron from a made-in-India plane. What
I didn't disclose: it lasted only a few strokes before reverting to
its nasty, tear-outy nature. I keep it for use on sticky doors and
gritty, painted stuff where I don't want to lose a decent iron.
Sounds like my newish Stanley block plane. I foolishly bought it
when I was starting out, and I keep it around just for working on ply or
other stuff where I don't want to risk messing up a real plane.
For my money, there's no question about it. I'm not going to shell
out the bucks for a new Stanley, Anant or any other marginal plane
when there are good old Stanleys, Veritas and L-N's available.
Agreed! And I'll probably go with a Veritas vs. a L-N due to
owning short crowbars and a proper Scottish wallet. (It screams
when you open it.)
You've certainly made that clear, Mr. Squeaky Britches. :-)
Knowing what I know now, if I were starting from scratch buying
planes, I'd go almost exclusively with Veritas. I'd probably still have
an old Stanley jointer and fore, but for specialty planes, I don't think
you can get better bang for the buck than the Veritas.
Chuck Vance