I think that many people would like to skip the rote practice it takes to master anything, but then it wouldn’t be worth anything would it? Always remember that achieving perfection begins with a fault. If we were born perfect, why would we need ongoing refinement and development throughout our lives? Neither are we born sensitive, sensitivity is cultivated into our being by different elements such as parents, teachers, mentors, friends and so on. Remember, it’s also good to remember that sensitivity and accuracy are one and the same. Accuracy must be cultivated and quality workmanship in woodworking is accomplished by the accuracy of how we work, so it’s not just getting the numbers agreed in a sum. For we woodworkers it’s how much pressure you apply in the forward thrust and how you angle the presentation of the plane as you move forward. A slanted cut may need to change to exactly the opposite angle before the wood slices like it should when the wood is less than perfect. Some times less but firm pressure works best while at other times an extra push delivers the shaving. Hand tool work is so different than the machine. Handwork demands all of the senses engage and that we move according to the information the senses transmit to the brain. If we fail to respond to the senses and don’t cultivate sensitivity we are brutish in our work and we blame the tools instead of our insensitivity. Remember that some woods will never plane no matter the thickness of the iron or the maker of the plane. The #80 scraper never fails in such circumstances.
Whereas most people new to woodworking grip the plane handle (tote) at the rear with a death throttle, this is really not generally good practice. Firmness in the driving (dominant) hand needs no more than three fingers to curl round the tote (rear handle) so that the forefinger extends forward and along the side of the frog; in similar fashion to the handsaw if you will. This pointing finger gives direction to the plane (or saw) and sensitizes the hand in guiding and micro adjusting the plane orientation vertically and forward in relation to the body of wood.
The forehand on the front knob varies to task and sometimes my thumb sits on the main body casting adjacent to the knob with my forefinger beneath the plane sole so as to grip the plane without hindering the free passage of the plane. At other times my fingers only surround the front knob with the thumb on top and not forming any part in the grip. At other times my grip splits into two so that the two fingers unite either side and the pad of the thumb presses against the fingered grip. This is according to task. There are other grips and several according to both plane type and task.
