I thought wooden planes were a thing of the past until I came across an Internet site offering new ones made from scratch. So, we had one specially made and sent to us. The maker, Steve Knight, states on his site that his planes are to be used and not just looked at, and therefore he spends most of his time on the build quality and components, not the finish. The buyer should expect a few file marks or a little tearout. I won’t argue with this; knowing the bashing that any tool is prone to over the years, its finish is secondary to the performance.

The finishing plane Steve sent (he’ll build to your requirements from a variety of timbers) is made predominantly from white oak, with an ebony striking button and verawood sole. Verawood is very similar to lignum vitae, so should stay flat and true over the years. The iron is made from Starrett tool steel, hardened to RC 62 – 64 and cryogenically frozen down to -250F. It certainly is a fine cutting iron – 2in wide and 1/4in thick, held with a wedge with a polished cutting edge as sharp as anyone could hope for. The actual cutting width is 1 1/4in.

An adjustable wooden insert held with large brass screws closes the mouth down. When I received the plane, it had some fluffy shavings in the mouth to show that it had been tuned up and was cutting correctly. If you look at how fine the aperture between the mouth and blade is, it’s a wonder how any shavings can get through, it’s that fine. but believe me, it works. I used the plane on a piece of wild-grained cherry, and it cleaned this up splendidly, and left a polished finish on end grain as smooth as a technical author’s head. Wooden planes can be a pic to set up, but its purpose its purpose in life is to take fine, wispy, thinner-than-paper shavings, which it does admirably. It should only need setting up very occasionally. Anyone with a workshop that gets involved in hand finishing will benefit from one of these, it really is a dream to use.

The finish plane currently sells at $95 (about 60 pounds on the website) plus shipping costs (and readers should note that our package attracted Customs and Excise duty of about 15 pounds). This may seem expensive for a wooden plane, but handmade quality doesn’t come cheap, and good performers are even rarer. www.knight-toolworks.com

The plane body is made from white oak. The adjustable throat plate and sole are made from ipe (pronounced “e-pay”). The strike plate is ebony. While the plane’s fit and finish doesn’t match those of high-end tools, Knight’s philosophy is that he wants to make a plane that works well and is inexpensive. Sacrifices are made in production to make an affordable tool, but he hits the nail right on the head because this plane functions very well. At $85, with a cryogenically treated, 1/4″ thick iron, and an adjustable throat, this plane performs well or better than planes costing much more. Once you learn how to set the iron, it is a breeze. This tool is for using, not admiring and it’s a tool that you’ll want to be buried with. PW