I was looking up some information and ran across an old thread on "premium" planes:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...-premium-plane
I was struck by the fact that no one mentioned a plane type I should have mentioned myself since I actually own one. I am thinking of the planes made by Blum Tool Co. I got interested in these planes when a guy who use to post here, Orlando Gonzalez, mentioned them to me. As I understood it at the time Orlando, who had an impressive collection of nice planes sold them all and bought all Blum planes. Schwarz did a review of them years ago and our own Derek Cohen has information on them at his site as Blum sent Derek one and challenged him to review it. I think these planes are some of the most accurate, functional designs available and worthy of consideration by anyone contemplating a "premium" plane.
The reason I bring past history to the attention of my fellow SMC posters is I believe many people are missing out in a big way by not considering these planes. A careful review of Derek’s review of Blum planes reveals that Derek’s final analysis was very positive. In Derek’s case, as in mine, Derek took quite a while to complete his review, around 5 months I think. Orlando also had a false start dealing with Blum planes as have others. The “issue” that I believe prevents many from trying these planes out has to do with the learning curve in using them. The important thing to understand here IMHO (in my humble opinion) is the fact that although the Blum frog and blade adjustment system may have a few extra adjustments and move most people out of their comfort zone, there are very important positive benefits to this different system. The important realization I had using my plane was, once “the light bulb went off” and I understood the system, I actually found it as easy or easier than other systems to use and certainly more accurate. Certainly building a chipbreaker into a heavy frog reduces parts and the small, cheap blades are tons easier to sharpen. Turning a couple screws adjusts the mouth size or depth of cut to a degree of accuracy not available with other systems. No need for an adjustable mouth here, so Blum can build a tougher mouth into his planes.
Gary Blum IMHO deserves an enormous amount of credit for essentially building a better mouse trap….We tend to obsess on known quantities on these pages and shy away from the latest “improved” version. There are obvious reasons for this trend among our group of “old school” hand tool users. I’m sure a few posters are clutching their hundred year old Stanley plane to their chest and repeating their mantra to themselves already. I suspect a few LV plane fans are about to stop reading sure that their planes are easier to use and more versatile. The LN users are probably just certain that theirs are the most beautiful, classic planes available. I understand and sympathize with all these emotions, at the same time, I’m here to suggest that these planes are worthy of a fresh look as IMHO they offer a combination of benefits that is unique.
Ease of Use
This has been the stumbling block for Blum planes IMHO. IMHO this issue is a non issue and an actual and very real advantage to Blum planes for anyone willing to spend a little time “looking under the hood”. These planes use two screws to move the frog (with blade attached) up & down within the plane body. A second set of screws sets the planes mouth opening. A fifth screw/bolt locks the entire frog and blade rigidly in place. It is a very simple extremely precise system. The real issue here has to do with preconceived notions concerning adjustments for planes and how they “should” work. The other temporary issue is the frog is located in a dark hole in the plane body where it is hard to see. I say this is a temporary issue because once one grasps what is going on “under the hood” a light bulb tends to go off ending all “ease of use” issues.
I submit to my fellow readers that the Blum system provides better frog/chipbreaker control than a Stanley BedRock, and greater accuracy and blade control than any Stanley, Lee Valley or Lie Nielsen plane. Once familiar with the adjustment system I believe most would agree that it is very accurate and easy to set.
Cost
Blum planes are not cheap but, there is more to the game than the initial cost. Blades for Blum planes are $10. The “chip-breaker” is part of the frog not a separate part and does at least as good a job of supporting the small blade as Stanley plane chip breakers do of supporting their much larger blades. You want need a grinder or coarse diamond stone to “grind” Blum plane blades. The time savings and investment in sharpening gear can be substantial. Each Blum plane comes with a very durable jig to hold the blade in the correct position while the user sharpens it. No need for fancy calibrated plane blade holding jigs here. I suspect a few Blum planes with a few custom frogs and a good supply of blades could out perform a host of other types of planes & scrapers. Another bonus is there is little reason to remove any of the few moving parts from the plane. It is hard to imagine misplacing, breaking or loosing a part other than one of the $10 blades. Blum planes are made from excellent tough woods that Gary takes great pains to finish in such a way that cracks, mouth damage…are of little concern. My plane is several years old and still looks like it did the day it arrived. Mesquite has one of the lowest tendencies to absorb water, expand crack. How many places offer a plane made of Mesquite?
Flexibility, beauty
A quick trip to Blum Tool Co. will reveal the multitude of sizes and woods Gary offers. Talk about your custom options, Gary offers a host of options: including different frog angles. One can even install a scraper frog or order a cambered frog. I find the assortment of woods and functional design to be aesthetically pleasing as well.