Is a cheaper plane worth it?

Following on from the previous post, I thought it would be interesting to look at differing costs between more premium planes and lower-end planes. In the table below I have included a range of low-angle block planes from varying manufacturers. Differentiating planes is achieved by means of price, and construction characteristics. Most planes have a body made of ductile iron, but it is hard to tell the quality of the casts without performing some sort of destructive testing. The adjustment mechanisms range in quality depending on materials, and machining. Finally, lower priced planes tend to have more generic, high-carbon type blades.

There are three price tiers in the table below: high, medium, and low. On the upper tier are HE and LN planes which cost more in part because they contain a good amount of bronze. The HE is a block plane for those who like pure bronze tools. Both planes are made in countries with higher wages, and likely better quality raw materials. With companies like LN, materials and workmanship are also guaranteed for the life of the tool. Veritas (Lee Valley) also produces exceptional quality planes at a marginally lower cost (possibly to do with larger economies of scale), having it sit in the mid-tier price-wise. What is evident is that there is little price difference between the likes of Wood River (WR) and Veritas planes – in fact the Veritas plane is only US$13 more. For that US$13 you are getting a Canadian made plane with bronze adjustment mechanisms, a better quality blade, a better casting, and more ergonomic finger grips. The WR plane is basically an amalgam of the Stanley No.65 low angle and No.18 standard angle knuckle-lever cap designs (the knuckle-lever isn’t really the most effective mechanism around), with little in the way of innovation.

	Cost (US$)	Body	Parts, e.g. cap lever	Blade	Weight	Manufactured
Henry Eckert (HE) No.60½	$243	bronze	bronze	PM-10V	1250g	Australia
Lie Nielsen (LN) No.60½	$187	ductile iron	bronze	A2	680g	USA
Veritas (LV) LA	$143	ductile iron	iron, bronze	A2	790g	Canada
Wood River (WR) LA	$130	ductile iron	chrome-plated steel	high carbon	925g	China
Melbourne Tool Co. (MT) LA	$95	ductile iron?	brass	M2 HSS	750g	China
Stanley Sweetheart (S) No.60½	$80	ductile iron	brass	A2	1150g	Mexico

A comparison of prices and characteristics of low-angle (LA) block planes

If you want a classic Stanley-style plane then buy a vintage one. A vintage Stanley No.18 goes anywhere from US$70-100, and a No.65 around $US100-130. Sure it may need some TLC, and the chrome may not be shiny, but it is a quality tool that has stood the test of time. At the low-end of the scale are Melbourne Tool, and Stanley. I actually think the Melbourne Tool Company plane is much better positioned from a price perspective than the WR. It is a nicer looking plane as well, although I don’t know if there are any true design innovations here. Comparing it to the Stanley, it’s price-point may be a higher than it should be, but Stanley has the advantage of larger production runs and lower manufacturing costs (manufacturing labour costs are 19% higher in China compared to Mexico, and shipping is cheaper as well).

Now some people don’t want to pay more for a premium plane, and that’s fair enough. Higher costs may be indicative of a more small-scaled production, quality materials, and a high-quality manufacturing process. Lower cost is sometimes an indicator that the quality of the materials may not of the same standard, or production costs, i.e. wages, are lower (although by many estimates costs aren’t that much lower than manufacturing in the USA). Ultimately though when you take all these factors into account, the difference between the lower and higher ends of the spectrum does rest in where they are manufactured. Remember, sometimes it’s important to support local companies that are making a genuine product.

P.S. From what I have read, if you are looking for a bargain block plane, then the Stanley may actually be the best option. However they are almost impossible to source in Canada, but you can find them at Home Depot in the US.

P.P.S. If you are buying a Wood River block plane in Canada, they sell for C$216, whereas the Veritas low-angle sells for C$195 – you do the math.

The ethical dilemma of the doppelgänger

There have always been doppelgängers, i.e. look-alike planes. Most early metal planes produced in the USA from the mid 1800s onwards, were produced in the manner of the style of Bailey (designed by Leonard Bailey, but the patents and name were eventually owned by Stanley), or later Bedrock designs (manufactured after 1898). These designs were copied, first by the likes of Sargent, then Record, and Millers Falls and a myriad of smaller companies – all doppelgänger’s of one sort or another. It wasn’t unusual for copies to be produced once patents lapsed (patents during the period were 17 years), but the copies were often of relatively equal quality, and made in the USA. Today’s market seems to have transitioned into two types of metal plane.

First there are the more premium planes. After the design and production in metal planes waned in the 1960s, it would not be until the 1980s that Veritas and Lie Nielsen took over the torch. While Lie Nielsen tweaked old Stanley designs using quality materials, Veritas created innovative new plane designs. The second type of metal plane is the modern doppelgänger. These are usually planes produced using Stanley-esque designs with the odd feature, often mass-produced in overseas factories – herein lies the predicament.

Not just anyone can produce metal planes. It requires expertise, production facilities, and an ability to produce a pristine, high-quality product. A plane that will last a lifetime, or three. These companies produce high-quality metal planes, often at a more premium cost, but there are a number of reasons for this. Firstly when you buy a premium plane, as with any tool, you are paying for the R&D involved in producing that plane. This includes innovations such as adjustment mechanisms, use of new materials (high end blades), quality production moulding, and customer support. Most of all, you are supporting a local business. We forget that a plane made in Canada or the USA helps support local families, who in turn support the local economy. These companies also support other companies, either foundries, or wood suppliers (it is said that each manufacturing job indirectly supports seven other jobs). What you are getting with both LV ad LN is attention to detail and a quality product.

The doppelgänger is usually made in a factory far off somewhere, sometimes sold under various brand names, and vary rarely benefits the local community. They are often of lesser quality than those of the premium planes, both in terms of materials and finishing. They cost less partially because they are manufactured in countries with lower production costs, i.e. low wages. The doppelgänger does somewhat contribute to an ethical dilemma – both in terms of construction and cost. The companies making these planes aren’t always “knocking off” anyone’s intellectual property (because those Stanley patents mostly expired a century ago), but there are some planes that look conspicuously like premium planes that still have patents in place.

For example, the Stanley No.62 low-angle (jack) plane appeared in 1905 and has been reproduced a number of times. Lie Nielsen reproduced the No.62, with a bronze lever cap and other other aesthetic and quality improvements. It also added a 4.44mm thick blade, more than double the thickness of the original Stanley. The equivalent Veritas product, the “Low-Angle Jack Plane” (numbered No.62½), has a number of innovations of features that differentiates it. Firstly it adds a large machined finger-rest, to allow for more control; and an adjustable mouth with a toe that is a third the length of the sole, an adjustable mouth with a precision adjustment screw, and set screws to prevent blade shift. The blade is even thicker than the LN, at 4.75mm.

The doppelgängers are more often than not cheaper, but they also lack a certain level of quality. Even the Stanley’s Sweetheart is not a truly exceptional product. They all have a good weight, but the castings often appear somewhat inferior, with lesser quality metals used for adjustment mechanisms etc. Sometimes they even use totes/knobs made of endangered tree species. The blades are often not high-end either, either material-wise nor thickness. There are exceptions to the rule of course – Henry Eckert produces an Australian-made No.62 copy, which has fittings made of solid brass, and a cap iron made of manganese brass. In addition the handles are made of more exotic (usually Australian) woods.

Plane	Cost (US$)	Body	Lever Cap / woods	Blade	Weight	Manufactured
Henry Eckert No.62	$330	manganese bronze	manganese bronze, var. AUS hardwoods	PM-10V	2600g	Australia
Lie Nielsen No.62	$295	ductile iron	bronze, hardwood	A2	2060g	USA
Veritas LA Jack	$266	ductile iron	cast, hardwood	O1/A2	2400g	Canada
Wood River #62 LA Jack	$260	ductile iron	cast, bubinga	high carbon	2090g	China
Melbourne Tool Co. LA	$170	ductile iron	steel, hardwood	M2 HSS	2500g	China
Stanley Sweetheart No.60½	$136	ductile iron	steel, hardwood	A2	2800g	Mexico

A comparison of the characteristics of Stanley-style No.62 low-angle jack planes

People tend to think that products manufactured offshore will be cheaper, but they rarely are. Products are cheaper to manufacture, and are sold for marginally less, but that often just lends itself to a reasonably larger profit margin. Consider a recent router plane placed on the market which somewhat closely resembles the Veritas Large Router plane (whose patent does not expire until 2029). According to many it has an interesting adjustment mechanism. But what of its price? It sells for US$190 (including a fence). The Veritas Large Router in the same configuration is US$209. Hardly a price difference really, except that with Veritas you are buying Canadian made. The thing I find funny about knock-offs is how hard people have to work to sell them… with 101 different talking points on why their tools are better. One plane I saw talked about being made of die steel – which some may think that better than ductile iron (DI), but in fact DI has superior shock absorbance, which is an incredibly important quality to have in a woodworking tool.

The reality is that good tools designs from reputable toolmakers are getting copied all too often. Buying a doppelgänger then very much becomes an ethical dilemma – by choosing a cheap knock-off that has been manufactured offshore, you are effectively aiding a rip-off tool industry. The choice is yours. Don’t buy knock-offs, and support your local toolmakers.

P.S. I should also mention that the likes of Veritas, Lie Nielsen, and Henry Eckert planes will retain their value, the same could likely not be said of many of the other planes.

What plane blade steel is that?

When you buy a plane there are often various types of steel you can choose for a blade. For example Lee Valley generally offers O1, A2, or PM-V11. Of course steel is never just steel – steel is itself an alloy of iron and carbon, but often other elements, e.g. chromium, vanadium and tungsten are added. Here I briefly summarize the most common steels used to manufacture plane blades. Note that this covers just plane blades, with other metal tools like chisels the variety expands ever further, including powdered metals like CPM 3V, CPM 10V and CPM M4. I have not included any Japanese steels, because they are often laminated, and blades are generally described as being “high carbon steel“. Firstly, who uses what type of steel in their plane blades?

• Lie Nielsen − A2
• Veritas − O1, A2, PM-V11
• Hock (Lee Valley) − O1, A2
• Clifton − O1
• Lake Erie Toolworks − CPM Magnacut

Steel has many properties, and three of the most important are toughness, hardness, and edge retention.

• Toughness − This is the ability of steel to deform without breaking, cracking or chipping. Materials that lack toughness are said to be brittle. This has an effect on sharpening angles – the slimmer the angle, the less metal there is behind the edge, and the more brittle it becomes.
• Hardness − Hardness is the ability of steel to resist penetration and deformation. Metal that is too soft will be liable to deform. Hardness is normally measured in terms of the Rockwell scale (HRC).
• Edge retention − How long an edge will remain sharp, i.e. maintain its cutting ability.

Below are the most commonly used, and newer steels used for plane blades.

• O1 − A high carbon, oil quenched steel, where the ‘O’ stands for oil hardening. The best grinding angle for this type of steel is 25° with a honed bevel of 30°. (low alloy steel). A finer grain steel than A2, easy to sharpen.
• A2 − Introduced by Lie Nielsen, “A” stands for air-hardening. It is tougher than O2, which makes it harder to hone. The grinding angle is 25°, but the honing angle should be 33-35° to make the edge more robust. It takes longer to sharpen than O1, but it retains its edge longer.
• PM-V11 − A Veritas® proprietary powdered metal (PM) alloy. It holds an edge longer than A2, but is almost as easy to hone as O1. The grinding angle is 25°, honing is 30-33°. The “V11” likely denotes 11% vanadium content.
• M2 − The standard industrial high-speed steel (HSS). Durable edge, but don’t get very sharp, and are difficult to sharpen.
• M4 − Another high-speed steel. Exceptional edge retention and wear resistance. Good toughness, but like A2 it takes longer to sharpen.
• CPM-MagnaCut − A proprietary powdered metal (PM) alloy made by Crucible. A stainless steel it was developed for the cutlery industry. Exceptional toughness and edge retention, and corrosion resistance.

Blade performance tests for the most common blade metals (from Lee Valley)

For those interested in the composition of these blades, here are the basics (note that PM-V11 is proprietary so isn’t on the list). For further information, I suggest reading the articles by Knife Steel Nerds tagged in Further Reading. The knife making industry talks much more about steel types than the tool industry.

Steel	C(%)	Cr(%)	Mo(%)	V(%)	W(%)	Si(%)	Mn(%)	Misc.
O1	0.95	0.5			0.5	0.3	1.2
A2	1	5	1	0.5
M2	0.85	4	5	2	6.4
M4	1.4	4	5	4	5.5	0.55	0.3	P (0.03%) S (0.06%)
D2	1.5	12	1	1
CPM MagnaCut	1.15	10.7	2	4				Nb (2%) N (0.2%)

Metal composition

What do these elements contribute?

• Carbon (C) – hardness and wear resistance
• Chromium (Cr) – tensile strength and wear resistance;
• Molybdenum (Mo) – machinability and strength
• Manganese (Mn) – hardness and brittleness
• Silicon (Si) – strength; facilitates casting, and hot work
• Phosphorous (P) – strength
• Sulphur (S) – machinability
• Vanadium (V) – wear resistance and hardenability
• Tungsten – wear resistance and hardness

Note that plain carbon steel has shortcomings, because it hardens only to about 5mm. Adding alloys helps eliminate problems – adding chromium allows steel to be hardened all the way through and produces steel that can be hardened in an oil bath.

Further reading:

• Knife Steels Rated by a Metallurgist : Knife Steel Nerds (2021)
• Chisel Chopping – 5 Steels : IntheWorkshop (2011)
• Crucible Industries : makers of a multitude of fine metals
• O1 vs. A2 : Ron Hock (archived article)
• O1 Steel – History, Properties, and How to Heat Treat : Knife Steel Nerds (2019)
• A2 Steel – History and Properties : Knife Steel Nerds (2019)
• Steel Properties that Knifemakers Care about and Users Don’t : Knife Steel Nerds (2020)
• The Development of High Vanadium Steels, M4, and the First Tool Steels Book : Knife Steel Nerds (2018)
• CPM MagnaCut – The Next Breakthrough in Knife Steel : Knife Steel Nerds (2021)