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I don't get this.

A

Andy Kev.

Nordic Pine
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Here's a link to a new plane from Veritas - a No 1 bevel up plane:

https://www.leevalley.com/en-gb/shop/to ... er-1-plane

The reason I don't get it is that they already do a handle for fitting to the back of their block planes (I don't get that either) to give you more or less the same effect.

I'm not knocking this, BTW: I like Veritas planes and I like the fact that they seem to be continually refine what they produce but this just seems a bit odd and perhaps even pointless.

What does the Committee think?
 
If you've got a half decent block plane, you may as well use that rather than something like this. It seems to me like a block plane with a handle stuck on the back and I can't really see the point of this new plane either - Rob
 
Well as I said they do a handle for the block planes but what's the point of that? The idea of the ergonomics of a block plane is surely that you have control of it by virtue of it being enveloped by your hand.

There's also a school of thought that the old Stanley No 1 Bailey style was a bit of a waste of time as well.

I wonder if Veritas would have done better to have produced something around No 2 size which I could imagine might have found a niche with box makers.
 
Andy, Andy, Andy...........What are you doing looking at the Veritas website?
 
Mike, That made me grin. Go on then: what’s wrong with looking at the Veritas website?

I do like their gear, BTW. The LAJ is my dogsbody plane and I don’t know what I’d do without the small plough and the router, although I suspect that a good second hand router would probably do the job equally well.
 
I really like Veritas tools - I think they are excellent quality at sensible prices.

I would not buy this new plane. My go to block plane is a Veritas (plus my bronze Luberon which is also excellent quality and value) and I wouldn't want a handle on it. Not sure I can see a point in this tool either, but I would reserve judgement until I handle one.

Planes are funny though. I have two rebate planes for example: a Clifton (which you can convert into other things but I never do) and an old Record of very similar design. For some reason inexplicable really the Clifton is just miles better and I never use the Record.

I have a little chisel plane too (with removable bullnose cap) which I thought would be dead useful for cleaning out rebates and shoulders in tight spots - but I think it is of much less use than a chisel. Maybe some planes are just marketing?
 
"Maybe some planes are just marketing?"

It's an intriguing thought. Given that anything that is sold usually has a bit of marketing attached to it and given that the people who are likely to buy planes are probably overwhelmingly hard-headed in their considerations before parting with their cash, I suspect it's more a question of the degree of marketing.

FWIW I suspect that the Veritas BU No1 has a lot more marketing about it than the other Veritas planes, with the exception of the miniatures. The latter are clearly meant as cute little things for the display case although I bet somebody somewhere has found genuine use for them. I reckon that they made the No 1 simply because they can and I also suspect that they have calculated how many collectors and completists there are out there who will simply have to have it.

I wouldn't knock Veritas for this as the quality is always good, as you say. If I were allowed only three bench planes it would be the LAJ, the BU No 7 and the low angle block, all from Veritas. That said, I'd mourn not having my Record 5 1/2 and Clifton 4 1/2 any more.

Bridge City is another firm where you have to wonder about the marketing. The planes are genuinely innovative in design. A mate of mine who is a qualified engineer raves about the quality of the engineering of the BC block plane and the way the cap holds the iron down. Was that designed because it was thought to be better or because its uniqueness would make it marketable?

All in all, I think that if a plane is to be a success, it must first and foremost do what it says on the tin. If it does it better than the competition, the marketing men can get on with their job. If it doesn't, they really have to get on with their job.
 
Andy Kev.":lpsl9x21 said:
I wouldn't knock Veritas for this as the quality is always good, as you say. If I were allowed only three bench planes it would be the LAJ, the BU No 7 and the low angle block, all from Veritas.
Click to expand...
More or less my 'go to' planes but substitute the Veritas block for the low angle jobbie from LN - Rob
 
I couldn’t see anything on there that I couldn’t do with my record number 4 that I use for virtually everything. It just looks so out of balance, I think I would always be thinking I was about to snap the handle off. Ian
 
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