Block Plane Shootout
One of the hand planes that you will forever find yourself constantly reaching for is your trusty block plane. Block planes come in various sizes, with various features. Among the most versatile and commonly found are the 60 1/2 and 9 1/2 sized block planes with their adjustable throats and 6-6.5" long bodies, they can handle almost any task you would ask of them. They can be used to chamfer edges, smooth out surfaces, adjust and clean up joinery, and more. But how to choose the best one for yourself?
Things to consider:
Low angle or Standard Angle?
Nearly all block planes come in one of these two be angles...
A standard angle block plane like the 9 1/2 has the same overall cutting angle as your average bench plane. They are often heavier and make better smoothers.
A low angle block plane like the 60 1/2 has a lower overall cutting angle making it easier to plane end grains. They are often lighter which makes them easier to use in the air.
Narrower or wider blade?
A narrower blade is about 1-3/8" (35mm) and removes less material per stroke. Therefore a narrower blade is easier to push through difficult material and can get into tighter places.
A wider blade is about 1-5/8" (41mm) and removes more material per stroke. Therefore, a wider blade is more more stable when smoothing larger surfaces.
Lighter or heavier?
A lighter block plane is easier to work with in the air while doing tasks like making chamfers, cleaning up joinery and making small adjustments.
A heavier block plane block plane can help when smoothing as its weight helps it cut smoothly with less work from you.
What block planes were tested?
I identified seven block planes to evaluate. I chose these ones based on availability and popularity amongst the woodworking community. It is neither an exhaustive list or strictly apples to apples comparison.
The list of planes (in the order they appear below) is...
- Grizzly 60 1/2 Rabbet
- Juuma 9 1/2
- Jorgensen 60 1/2
- Lie-Nielsen 60 1/2
- Veritas DX60 (60 1/2)
- Veritas Low-Angle (60 1/2)
- Stanley Sweetheart 60 1/2 and 9 1/2
Breaking them down...
When you remove the lever caps the commonalities of these planes start to show. All of the irons are either 1-3/8" or 1-5/8" and about 3mm or 1/8" thick. All of the lever caps hook on a screw located in the center of the plane blade. The two 9 1/2 plane blades sit a few degrees higher than the rest. All but one has an adjustable throat.
Removing the irons, there more similarities and differences. The four traditional beds on the left are all essentially the same design with only materials and machining quality differentiating them. The four on the right all have Norris adjusters which allow for some lateral adjustment and in theory for finer depth adjustment.
Flipping the block planes over differences are minimal. The Veritas DX60 features an enclosed throat plate and more rounded body. The Grizzly is a rabbet plane and has the mouth extend to the sides. The three on the right are wider. For the most part, they are essentially the same size and throat position.
How to measure and compare them?
Quantitatively, there are easy data points to gather and compare...
- Length
- Widths
- Weight
- Material
- Cost
- Features
However, more importantly are the qualitative data points as this ideally is a plane that you will use constantly and always have on hand for every project. Therefor, this is what my testing will focus on...
Ease of Setup
After I clean each plane thoroughly, I will see how easy it is to reassemble them and get them taking fine shavings, paying attention to the challenges I face in getting them dialed in.
Comfort to Use
I will spend time with each one taking many shavings, chamfering edges, and seeing how comfortable I find them in my hand and how well I can feel the feedback of what the block plane is doing in my hand.
Let's get to the results...
Jorgensen
As the cheapest plane in the lineup, you might expect this to have been one of the hardest to work with or to dull quickly. Actually, I had it up running in no time and I never sharpened the blade.
Pros: Low cost. Easy setup. Wide availability.
Cons: None. (Orange is my favorite color.)
Overall: Best bargain plane that I have seen in a long time!Lie-Nielsen
Made in Maine, USA, this plane has some of the finest machining, casting and material quality that you will find on the market. Lie-Nielsen replicates traditional Stanley hand planes, but at a level that is second-to-none.
Pros: Exceptional quality.
Cons: Expensive (Especially in countries with import tax.)
Overall: If it is in your budget, get one!
Juuma
Distributed out of Germany, these planes are made by the same maker as the Luban hand planes, Quingsheng Tools Company in China. I bought the standard angle (9 1/2) block plane, as the Lie Nielsen 9 1/2 has been out of production for a while and are harder to find. While not as finely made as a Lie Nielsen, this plane is quite nicer than most of the budget planes. It is a little on the heavy side, brass adjuster forces you to really back off the lever cap a lot to get the blade to move, making fine adjustments harder. The low angle version of this plane is 60mg lighter, but that still puts it on the heavier side.
Pros: Affordable (especially in Europe). Good smoother.
Cons: Heavy. Sluggish adjuster.
Overall: Best budget option in Europe.
Grizzly
Grizzly Industrial is an Indian-owned, American-based company that has been providing budget hand plane line for years. Recently, Grizzly has begun a premium line, which is excellent and exactly what most of us want to see. I was excited to see them offer a rabbeting block plane. There are so few offerings for this plane on the market. To be fair, I should have gotten their premium 9 1/2 block plane for this comparison, but I really wanted a budget rabbeting block plane. Grizzly, if you are listening, I have three major feedback points. I spent a lot of time with this plane trying to get it dialed in.
First, the major issue is that the mouth is too large. Even after sharpening the blade and getting it set just right, I kept getting binding issues. I would prefer a tight mouth that I might have to file back slightly opposed to an overly large one that I cannot do anything about.
Second annoying issue is the sides of the plane are too high in the rear of the plane, making blade adjustment harder than it needs to be. Without a lateral adjuster and with the amount of space that the blade is allowed to move around, setting the plane with a hammer is essential.
In the pic above, the tip of the blade is available, but it was a noticeably small target compared to the other three planes lacking lateral adjusters. The difference was not major, but on a curve like this, it compounds to where this is the only one of the planes that I found difficult to tap into place.
Lastly, like the Juuma, I feel that a brass adjuster is a poor choice. The metal is too soft and struggles to move the blade unless you really back off the lever cap more than you should have to.
To sum it up, I was excited about this plane, but now I am not sure how often I will use it. I just never got to the point that I trusted and loved it.
Pros: It is an affordable rabbeting plane.
Cons: Oversized mouth limits its usefulness.
Overall: I hope that Grizzly keeps pursuing their premium line. This plane is so close to being good.
Stanley Sweetheart
From the late half of the 1800s through the early half of the 1900s, Stanley worked relentlessly to make themselves "THE" name in hand planes. The newer Sweetheart line by Stanley was an attempt to regain their brand within the woodworking community.
In order to get the blade to meet the wood straight on, I need to remove the brass ring around the center screw and line the blade up off to the side.
Pros: The 9 1/2 is one of the heaviest smoothers on the market. Norris Adjuster works great.
Cons: Inconsistent quality control. The 60 1/2 is too wide and heavy to be comfortably used for anything other than a smoothing tasks.
Overall: Great smoother, but not an all-in-one option. If you have an apron plane, this is a good companion to have for it.Veritas Low Angle Block Plane
Veritas Tools is Canada's premier hand tool manufacturer. Where other tool companies are cloning traditional hand planes, Veritas is constantly evolving and redesigning tools to be as effective and versatile as possible. Veritas offers both a low angle and standard angle version of this plane. This hand plane is about as wide and heavy as it could be and still be used for chamfering and clean up tasks. While it lacks a throat lever, it has norris adjuster and two other cool features.
In the picture above, on each side of the bed, you can see two set screws that allow you to set the precise position of the blade within the bed. So, when you take the blade out to sharpen it or swap it out, the blade is properly positioned as it is placed back in.
However, the coolest feature of these planes are the optional accessories like the tote and knob pictured above. With these, the block plane becomes an amazing smoothing plane. While the blade is as wide as a traditional #2 hand plane, the sole is much shorter, and only slightly longer than a #1. This is exceptionally useful when cleaning up boards with difficult grain.
Pros: Wide PM-V11 blade, norris adjuster, set screws, versatility, accessories.
Cons: Not the lightest or cheapest plane.
Overall: An amazing workhorse. Best overall smoother.
Veritas DX60
The old Stanley 65 was often called the "Cadillac" of block planes. The Veritas DX60 could be referred to as the same. It is luxury and performance, but not extravagantly so. The feedback into the hand while using it matches that of an apron plane. The adjusters are all finer than any other's in this lineup. It is the longest plane in the lineup with a narrow PM-V11 blade.
In the picture above you can see that DX60 has two blade set screws on the sides. It also has a set screw for the throat plate. this allows you to set a stop so that the throat plate never collides with the blade.
Pros: Comfort, luxury, versatility.
Cons: Most expensive in this lineup.
Overall: An absolute treat to use.
Summary
The table below lists the tested block planes in order of cost (USD). For the two qualitative columns for "ease of setup" and "comfort of use", these categories are scored compared to the other planes tested and not standardized across the whole market. A 1/5 doesn't signify a fail, but as an outlier amongst this lineup.
Best bargain (USA): Jorgensen
Best bargain (EU): Juuma
Best smoother: Veritas Low Angle block plane (with handles)
Best overall: Veritas DX60 and Lie-Nielsen 60 1/2
I am not picking sides on the last category. Veritas and Lie-Nielsen are each amazing at what they do and take a different approach in their offerings.
I hope that this writeup is useful for anyone shopping for a new block plane. If you think there is another block plane that I should include or another test to run, please do not hesitate to reach out. Thank you for reading!
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