One last question on planes

[Anna]

Lie-Nielsen or Veritas?

[Hoover]

With either one you win!!!

[LarryG]

Lie-Nielsen or Veritas?

Survey says ...

Lie-Nielsen AND Veritas!

My block plane is an L-N. My bullnose plane is a Veritas. On my shopping list are the L-N 212 scraper plane, the Veritas medium shoulder plane, and the Veritas low-angle jack plane.

And that's just the ones I've decided on thus far ...

[eddy merckx]

I think LN planes are prettier but I sure like the looks of the Veritas low angle jack plane. I think they have four different irons you can get, effectively giving you four different planes. I would have killed for one when I was tearing out the reversing grain on the tabletop of my current project. They also have a bevel up jointer plane that looks really nice.

My next "new" plane will definitely be a Veritas medium shoulder plane.

Eddy

[jspelbring]

LN vs. Veritas

The first plane that I bought (well, LOML kinda helped) was a LN #5 LA Jack. Beautiful! The next pair were both Veritas - LA Block and a medium shoulder. As others have said, you can't really go wrong with either. I feel just a little more comfortable using the Veritas ones though - I'm afraid of scratching, dropping, or otherwise damaging my pretty, pretty LN.

[SARGE..g-47]

Morning Anna...

The LN is certainly a well engineered plane at a maximum price. The Veritas is well engineered and priced more reasonable even though not as glitzy at first glance. But.. then again, glitz doesn't factor into performance quality does it?

So... my answer to your question is I have 5 Veritas waiting under my work-bench waiting for a green light to signal "Git Crakin".

Regards...

[kwgeorge]

You know Anna when I bought my first Lie-Nielsen plane at Woodcraft the Lie-Nielsen rep was there and he made the comment to me that I was buying an heirloom tool I could pass down to my grandchildren, I told him that they can buy their own tools and I was buying the plane for me! I now have several (more than 3 but “many” sounded bad) LN planes and like them very much. With that though they are pretty pricey and my wife has made me take pictures of all my stuff and has added it to the insurance as she is convinced I have more dollars in tools than we do in the house. I also have a couple Veritas planes and I find them to be very good quality and very well made. I love my Veritas Bullnose plane and bought it originally as LN had nothing to compete with it. It was quite the surprise on how well it was made and performed but the problem that I have with other Veritas planes is I personally fine the handles and knobs uncomfortable for me but that’s me. For the most part they are considerable cheaper than the LN and some people say they are more innovative since they are not based on the original Stanley/Bailey designs as the LN are.

On the other side of this question I also truly love running into very old Stanley planes. The pre WWII planes are exceptionally made and are a joy to use. I think maybe it’s a bit of the romantic in me as I often find myself wondering when using something like my old Stanley #3 what kind of use it saw prior to me owning, what kind of furniture or such was it used on etc. With all that though you really need to be willing to spend some time on an older tool to bring it back to life and make it usable once again.

So in the end it is your choice based on a lot of factors but I will tell you this, anyone who is happy with a new Stanley or Groz plane has never had a well sharpened LN, Veritas or a Pre WWII tuned up Stanley in their hand to compare it against as there just is no comparison. Just keep in mind that proper usage and sharpening make a big difference also as the plane you buy is only a part of the final product.

Ken

[Anna]

But.. then again, glitz doesn't factor into performance quality does it?

You don't know women, do you? j/k

As far as I'm concerned, I just want a really good plane. I love my LN shoulder plane, and everyone who's seen it (which is everyone who's stepped in our house the last week) said that it's like a work of art. And that's not even the "prettiest" Lie-Nielsen available.

But I was more impressed with how nice it felt in my hands. And how great it trimmed the tenons. That's why I was going to get the LN for the other planes I want.

In researching, though, I found out about the Veritas planes. From what I've read so far, LN bases its planes on the classic designs whereas Lee Valley updates them. I'm not sure it makes any difference to me right now because I don't have much experience with planes.

I think I'll order the Veritas planes (low angle jack and block planes). I do like the blade options for the low angle jack, and at some point I want the jointer plane because of the jointer fence. I guess I can always get the LN later on if I change my mind.

[Tom Miller]

I can't imagine not being pleased with either one -- I chose Veritas mostly because they're a few $$ less, but partly because I feel they're really innovative with their product line.

Otherwise, they may have just the tiniest differences that could sway you one way or the other. E.g., the mouth adjustment on the LA Jack: I like the screw adjustment that Veritas offers. I'm sure others like the more traditional adjustment you get on the LN. But that's some pretty minor stuff.

A little less minor is the design of the shoulder planes. But it's more a matter of fit to your hand than "good design".

Regards,
Tom
[Added later] Must take me forever to type -- your last post came in the mean time. Concerning blade options for the LA Jack: keep in mind that LN has just as many options, considering you can buy replacement blades, and then grind whatever bevel you want. It's just that LV has done a little of the work for you for a couple common bevel angles.

[25]

I must be weird(wait thats a given), I really like the look of LV planes. I don't know what it is about them either, I just really like how simple and practical they look, something about the lines just appeals to me.

Edit: Forgot to add I think the LN planes look good also, but to me they both look good for different reasons. But I still like the LV better just on looks.