With their long soles, jointer planes are unmatched at preparing dead-flat surfaces and edges by hand. The typical jointer plane has its blade with the bevel down, but a new Veritas jointer features a bevel-up blade configuration that has some distinct advantages. First, the blade is supported nearly all the way to its cutting edge, dampening vibration and chatter. Second, the chipbreaker is eliminated, which simplifies sharpening, setup, and tuning. Finally, the bevel-up format allows the plane’s cutting angle to be fine-tuned easily to suit the task at hand by sharpening the blade at different angles.

The 22-in. plane has a 2-1/4-in.-wide A2 blade with a 25° bevel, a Norris-type adjuster, and rosewood handles. Veritas sells accessory blades (sharpened to 38° and 50°) to handle trickier grain, and a fence to make jointing boards easier. Jointing board edges for glue-up was quick and predictable, and panels flattened with the plane were ready for finish—flat and smooth, with no torn grain. I highly recommend this tool.

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