How to choose a first hand plane: what the research says
Block plane or bench plane, from maker geometry and published tests. I have not planed a board with either.
Researched in August and September 2026. Reviewed . Next review: March 2027. 4 sources
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Research guide: I have not tested these products. Affiliate disclosure As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
How I built this guide
Sources I read. Wood Magazine’s block-plane roundup, JLC’s low-angle test, Bob Vila’s hand-plane roundup, Jay’s Custom Creations, and a Fine Woodworking forum thread.
What I cross-checked. The 12° bed and 45° Bailey bed are the published patterns, not a number I measured.
What I could not verify. Current Amazon.com prices, and whether a used Bailey in your town is flat. Lie-Nielsen and Veritas were not on Amazon when this was checked.
Most sources suggest this if the lumber you buy is already flat and you need end grain and chamfers; skip it if you are the one flattening rough faces.
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Lie-Nielsen 60½
Premium. More than one source agrees.
Wood Magazine, JLC and a Fine Woodworking forum thread treat it as a top low-angle block plane. Sold direct.
The price is the complaint.
Opens Amazon. Price and stock change. I have not used this. Affiliate link: if you buy, I may earn a commission. You do not pay more.
Veritas low-angle / DX60
Upper mid. More than one source agrees.
Wood Magazine, Canadian Woodworking and JLC recommend a Veritas low-angle. JLC called one bulky. The notes do not always mean the same model.
Bulk, in one test.
Opens Amazon. Price and stock change. I have not used this. Affiliate link: if you buy, I may earn a commission. You do not pay more.
Stanley 12-139 No. 60½
Budget. More than one source agrees.
JLC and Wood Magazine both say it works after setup. Wood Magazine reported backlash in the adjuster. A Mexico listing was open on 28 Oct 2026.
Thin iron and a sole that wants lapping.
Opens Amazon. Price and stock change. I have not used this. Affiliate link: if you buy, I may earn a commission. You do not pay more.
Pony Jorgensen No. 60½
Budget. One source, no second opinion.
Bob Vila called it the value pick in a 12-plane roundup.
That same note says the sole needs flattening.
Opens Amazon. Price and stock change. I have not used this. Affiliate link: if you buy, I may earn a commission. You do not pay more.
Stanley Sweetheart No. 4
Mid. One source, no second opinion.
Bob Vila’s “best smoothing” pick. One source only. Wood Magazine’s note about Sweetheart setup was about their block plane, not this one.
Fussy lateral adjuster, in that one review.
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WoodRiver No. 4 V3
Mid. The sources disagree. Read the notes in the guide.
Bob Vila and Jay’s Custom Creations like the performance for the money. Sawmill Creek owners report slop and one bad iron.
Weight and quality control. The sources do not agree.
Opens Amazon. Price and stock change. I have not used this. Affiliate link: if you buy, I may earn a commission. You do not pay more.
If the boards you bring home are already flat, the sources point at a low-angle block plane first. If you are flattening the face yourself, they point at a bench plane, usually a No. 4 or a No. 5.1 I have not made either cut.
What the experts say
High certainty on the jobs. Medium on which budget plane to buy: two tests agree the cheap Stanley needs setup, and several names disagree once the price goes up.
Wood Magazine’s line, quoted in the research notes, is that if they could buy only one block plane they would buy a low-angle model.2 JLC measured a Stanley 60½ around the bottom of the price range and found grinding marks, a thin iron and about 15 minutes of lapping. The same test found backlash in Stanley’s adjuster, which Wood Magazine also reported.3
A bench plane is the other tool. Bob Vila’s beginner note, as recorded in this pass, is to start with a No. 4 or a No. 5 when the work is a face.4 The usual Bailey bed is 45°, bevel down. A higher bed shows up in the literature as a tear-out fix. I did not measure one.
What owners report
On the Fine Woodworking forum, owners describe Lie-Nielsen as comfortable next to a WoodRiver block plane, which some call big.5 Sawmill Creek, cited in the bench-plane notes, is where the WoodRiver No. 4 argument lives: some people like it, some got a bad iron. That thread is linked from the product notes, not from a test of mine.
Where they disagree
Premium tools are not one model. Wood Magazine’s “top tool” and JLC’s measurements do not always name the same Veritas. Prices in those notes run from a test figure near $80 to a later DX60 figure near $199. I am not treating those as today’s price.
Bob Vila calls the Stanley Sweetheart No. 4 superb out of the box. That is one review. Wood Magazine’s setup complaint was about a Sweetheart block plane, a different tool. I am not merging them into one verdict.
My take
Buy the plane that matches the lumber, not the catalog photo. Already-milled stock: a low-angle block plane, and expect to lap a budget sole. Rough stock: a No. 4-size bench plane, used or new, and the same honesty about the sole. Lie-Nielsen and Veritas are what the comparative tests praise, and they were not on Amazon when I looked on 28 Oct 2026. The photo above is not one of those models.
A plane also needs a stop that does not walk. That is the bench note. The edge that is not a plane is a chisel or a saw.
Where this comes from
- Wood Magazine. Favorite block planes. Comparative test. Wood Magazine Consulted 28 Oct 2026, via search fragments where the site returned 402. back
- JLC. Tool test: low-angle block planes. Comparative test. JLC Consulted 28 Oct 2026. back
- Bob Vila. Best hand plane. Roundup. Bob Vila Consulted 28 Oct 2026. Updated on their page 27 Feb 2025. back
- Stanley pattern, as repeated by the tests above. Low-angle block plane bed and Bailey bench-plane bed, common 12° and 45° figures. Maker pattern. Stanley pattern, as repeated by the tests above Consulted 28 Oct 2026. back
Changes in this guide
- Rewritten as a research note. Removed the old type-only product boxes.
Common questions
Can a block plane flatten a wide board?
Not according to how these tools are built. The sole is short, so it follows a hollow. Flattening is a bench-plane job.
Did you try these?
No. The notes name who did.