If you want to see reviews, start looking in this UK forum.

http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/

If you dig around you will find a section which has reviews of planes. I
cannot find the link to this section.

One of the reviewers owns L-N as well as Veritas. I am not sure about
Stanley.

The typical response about a new Stanley vs a Veritas appears to be :
a) The Veritas are flat and true out of the box. A Stanley needs to be
flattened - if you desire your plane soles to be flat. Some folks do not
care. I bought a new Record #5 about 2 years ago and had to spend the time
to get its sole flat.
b) Quality of the blade. A Stanley has a normal steel blade, which will
hone to a great edge, but will not keep the edge for long. The Veritas
blade is a harder alloy which will keep its edge much longer.

I have a hand-me-down Stanley 9-1/2 and bought an old Stanley #3 from a
friend. Both of these were not flat. The #3 was used by a carpenter for
all his life and so even had significant wear scratches on the sole.

I have spent a lot of time tuning these tools. The 9-1/2 is now flat and
has a recently sharpened, but original blade. I have considered getting a
upgraded blade, but the ones I have seen have a 5/8 slot, whereas my plane
being US built has 7/16 slot. The 9-1/2 is now working acceptable well for
the light duty it is used for.

The #3 is another story. I do not have the sole as flat as desired perhaps
due to the amount of wear over the years. I will have to spend another hour
or two to get this to my desire.

The blade has been sharpened, but even after all my work, the Record cuts
much better than the #3, and most people claim the Record blades are not
very good.

Neither the Record or the #3 work as well as a recent Veritas purchase of
the Low Angle Block Plane. Even without any honing the Veritas cut with
ease.

The workmanship on the Veritas is very good. I prefer the ductile iron body
over cast iron, just in case this is ever nudged off the bench onto my
concrete floor.

Some people feel the Stanleys of 1950's or before are superior to present
day. This may be the case, but I expect a Veritas to hold its own compared
to any equivalent Stanley.

Dave Paine.



"Mike H." wrote in message
...
I'm wanting to purchase my first real hand plane (smooth plane), but I
don't
have the $ for a Lie-Neilson (the Cadillac?). Therefore, I was going to
get
a Veritas. After reading reviews and shopping online (and according to
the
2005 Tool Guide from Taunton), the Veritas planes appear to be the best
value for the money.

But the Stanley planes *look* descent enough, and are about half the price
of a Veritas. And I have seen photos of Stanleys in professional wood
workers' "favorite hand tool" selections. So I was wondering if anyone
out
there might have first hand experience in providing a side-by-side
comparison of the Stanley vs. Veritas hand planes (in particular smooth
planes). Amazon had a nasty review for the #4 Stanley, but the fellow
didn't say why it was such a horrible hand plane.

So what's the difference? Please help.
TIA.

-Mike