Surprised by a question…
…surprised by my answer
My friend, Jacob, came to my shop today and said, “Of all of your planes, which is your favourite?” He was looking at the many dozens at different places in my workshop.
I said, thoughtfully, and not wanting to just toss something out there, “Well, I have to say, after working with every plane there is out there, I would definitely, without hesitation, go for the Stanley #4 plane.” I then said, “I wish someone would replicate the #4 with high-spec engineering and wooden handles like they do with some planes being made today. That’s a plane I would go for.”
I like the #3, the #4 1/2, the #5 and #5 1/2; Stanley or Record. Oh, and I do collect Woden and I Sorby planes and these are some of those better-engineered models mentioned that in their era surpassed the UK Stanley and Record models and especially so.
I think I might be sad when I can no longer lift my Stanley or my Record to work. Why would I hasten the day with a heavier plane? I have thought of using these hybrid versions because they are so lovely to work with. Very lovely. They are about as light as a plane gets and yet deliver the width of cut, the best weight, the smoothness as well delivering the hidden perk of joyful pleasure.
Why do I have so many? It’s very simple. It’s much easier to show my students what it takes to resolve issues with planes than just tell them. Much fuller.
Paul,
Had some time so I checked out your blog today. I have a number 6 sears Baily knockoff that my dad used. He gave one of his planes to each of my siblings and 2 to me. The one he gave to my sister and brother in law sat on a shelf in their garage. My number 4 hit the concrete shop floor and took a big chunk out of the side. My brother doesn’t remember where his went.
I did what you do awhile back before everyone did it. I purchased a batch on Ebay. Not the caliber of your planes but I learned about the mechanics and how to recondition. Still trying to figure out how Paul makes it so easy, but I’m getting the hang of it.
I am milling walnut from large branches of one of my walnut trees that needed to be pruned for safety. Using the planes in the final stages I seem to be running into different grain directions?
In any case thanks for bringing me back to where I first got into woodworking. I still have the wooden tool tote in use that my Dad made. Not as neat as your tool cabinets but I can carry my tools to the project.
Now you see why branch wood is more avoided than sought. Let me explain. Branches rarely grow straight. The curves mean that no grain is parallel to any face so you are alternating between going with the grain and then against it no matter the side of the wood being worked.
Hi Paul, I must say your videos are great resources, and I often go back to many of them to review some details. My wife knows some of your explanations by heart just for passing by while I am at the computer..
We laughed quite a bit about that question because even she can tell that OF COURSE your favourite plane is the #4!!!!!! Cheers and thanks for the world of woodworking possibilities you unleash for the whole world.
Charles
Montréal, Québec
Hi Paul,
Just wondering whether you could elaborate on your comment, “I wish someone would replicate the #4 with high-spec engineering and wooden handles like they do with some planes being made today. That’s a plane I would go for.”?
My initial reaction to this was “they do” (thinking Lie-Nielsen’s #4), but on reflection I’m now thinking you might preclude these due to their Bedrock style of bed/frog mating design (as per one of your previous commentaries about Bedrocks).
Just curious.
Cheers,
Damian
Hello Paul,
You have mentioned your love for the #4, but out of all the planes you own (individuals, mind. Not types), which is your favourite? Do you find yourself favouring a particular #4 of yours, even if it’s based on something a little less logical, and a little more sentimental? Though, I think sentiment is logic, often.
I ask just out of curiosity. I know, personally, I pick favourites. I have a favourite knife for working, though it may not be the best, or the most functional. But it’s my favourite, none the less.
Andrew
My dad let me have his “spare” #4 a few months ago, he’s slowly off-loading tools to me as he’s planning on emigrating in the next few years. It’s been dropped, and has a weld line up the side from the base by the mouth to the edge. It still works a treat though when it’s all sharpened up.
Now to work out what I’m doing wrong that’s causing the “spare” 151 to stutter….
Paul, I very much like the looks of the Wood Hybrid plane you are using in the last picture above. Did you make that plane? Are planes such as that sold anywhere that you’re aware of? I’d like to get one, by either making one for myself, or buying one, and then trying it out to see if it suits me. So, if you have any information that could lead me to acquiring one of the Hybrid Planes, and you wouldn’t mind sharing the information, I would appreciate it.
It just occurred to me that your new book on woodworking tools, coming out in November, might contain information on such wooden hybrid planes. Does it, by any chance? Either way, I am very much looking forward to getting a copy of the book, the moment it comes out.
Thanks for all you do, Paul.
Take Care,
Kenneth T. Bruseth
‘Kenny’
While this is not a hybrid plane about a year or two ago, before I know that much about good planes, I bought and built this Krenov-style plane from Hock Tools
http://www.hocktools.com/products/kits.html
At that time it was the best plane in my arsenal. Now, thanks to Paul, I have several #4, a #3 and #5. Most are Stanley or Record. Right now my favorite is the #5 because although I can sharpen the planes pretty darn good, the 5 has the weight to continue where the 4 might bogged down. One of these days when I get to the place where I come close to doing a Paul Sellers level of sharpening the #4 will become my favourite.
Thanks for the link, Mike. A good place to start, ’till I can lay my hands on a genuine Wooden Hybrid like the one in the photo.Thanks again Mike.
Take Care,
Kenny
Hello Kenny,
here’s a link to a Post that might be of interest for you:
https://paulsellers.com/2015/03/making-a-fully-adjusting-wooden-bodied-plane/
and here is an example of a different approach to the same “issue”:
https://www.dictum.com/en/tools/woodworking-metalworking/planes/western-wooden-planes/703105/ece-primus-reform-smoothing-plane
(if you want to buy and not make your own…)
I haven’t used this plane yet, but ECE is a well known Maker from Remscheid/ Germany.
(http://ecemmerich.com/)
Hi Jens,
I looked through the links you were so kind to provide for me, and they are exactly the kind of info I was hoping to get! The blog entry by Paul is so very interesting, I can’t wait for him to post further on the subject of Hybrid Planes.
Thanks *so very much* for your help, Jens. Very kind of you. We are all lucky to have helpful and considerate folks like you participating in these blog posts.
Thanks again, and have a GREAT day, doing some woodworking!
Take Care,
Kenny
I have a small collection of planes aquired over the past 5 years, including two pricey planes I bought from Lee Valley. But I still tend to favour my #5 Stanley plane which was the first plane I bought about 20 years ago.
I recently purchased an Award plane, made in India from a second hand shop. It was in like new condition, but I could never get it to work, despite spending many hours with it.
I saw that Veritas offers a series of customized planes. Different handle configurations, blades, etc. They get good reviews. I haven’t used any except my Veritas low angle jack plane. I is my favorite plane.
Bevel ups are often nice and perform well in certain ideal conditions, but they usually don’t do so well on surfacing wide boards, rough-sawn stock, uneven textures and awkward grain orientation whereas a bevel down will outperform them many times and deal with about 98% of all work including what the BU will do. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like them, just that I see their limitations.
Mr. Sellers;
I am afraid that tool manufacturers are following the trend of power tools that most modern woodworkers turn to. There is little demand for hand tools that require complex machining to build and a measure of sweat to use. There are too few traditional woodworkers to encourage tool makers to replicate tools like quality planes.
I think that your actions of collecting old planes is prescient. You have identified the greatest age of hand tools and are accumulating them against a future when they will become unavailable. More of us should do that. I, myself, have learned to love planes and have four including a low-angle Stanley block plane. I intend to find a spokeshave and a hand router.
I don’t expect to actually use them much because I am nearly seventy years old and have no one to pass them down to.
Thank you.
True as far as mass marketers of tools go. There are still manufacturers of high quality iron hand planes, as well as boutique wooden plane makers. But you will pay dearly for new hand planes of this quality.
Maestro Paul has pointed out many times that the shift to power tools is an opportunity for nowaday hand tool workers to acquire hand tools from the golden era relatively cheaply, and that there are enough of them floating around that they should not become a scarce commodity anytime soon.