Replies

1. 
   JeffKurtz | Sep 09, 2003 11:06pm | #1

   The first time I saw their prices I nearly swallowed my teeth.  (No, I do not wear dentures.)  Guess their cost is due to hand construction, limited numbers, fine degree of finish, etc.

   My impression is that they cater to the connoisseur, that is those with more money than they know what to do with.

   Your question would be akin to asking if a Rolls Royce is worth the money..... no, to those of us who can't afford one..... sure, to those who can.

   Jeff

   PS  There was a discussion about these a couple months ago, so check the archives.

2. 
   MatthewSchenker | Sep 09, 2003 11:21pm | #2

   Yowza!!!!!!!!

3. 
   Steinmetz | Sep 10, 2003 02:58am | #3

   Scare, when you win the lottery, you can buy up all those pretty gimcracks. to impress all those elitest effetists who probably wear gloves so as not to sully their hands with , ugh! sawdust.

    I often wonder if they secretly wear silk underwearbeneath their designer lab coats.

    Save your money and your marriage and stick to real used tools that survived decades of hard work .

   The names,Sargent/ Stanley/ Goodall Pratt/ Starrett/Miller Falls/Buck Brothers/ Simmonds etc, should be searched for at flea markets/tag sales/tool auctions

   If you are handy or just lucky, you'll own those tools the next generation will drool over

   and you did,nt have to mortgage your house to own/enjoy them. Stein.

4. 
   SCFrankland | Sep 10, 2003 03:07am | #4

   If you want high end then check out the link below. For those of you who have problems with there teeth don't look.

   http://www.holteyplanes.com/

   Scott C. Frankland

   "This all could have been prevented if their parents had just used birth control"

1. 
   MatthewSchenker | Sep 10, 2003 05:10am | #5

   Those are gorgeous to look at!

   But the blades alone are what I spent on a plane I bought.

2. 
   steves | Sep 11, 2003 01:34am | #7

   Hmmmm. A shop full of equipment or a hand plane. Let me think about that.

1. 
   SCFrankland | Sep 11, 2003 02:57am | #8

   What is there to think about. A good handplane will get your wood down to it's final size, joint edges, shape sides, cut joints and give you a better final finish than any other tool on the market. So yes buy the plane and your shop will be a much roomer place to workScott C. Frankland

   "This all could have been prevented if their parents had just used birth control"

1. 
   steves | Sep 11, 2003 04:38pm | #10

   Only a plane made from solid platinum would be worth $5,000. I'd like to have a set of LN planes as they are worth the price, but this guy's price is ludicrous.

5. 
   GeeSeaWhy | Sep 10, 2003 09:10am | #6

   "If you have to ask the price, sir, I'm afraid you probably can't afford it".

   They do, however, make wonderful gifts (for me! for me!). I have two LN planes, the low-angle block plane I bought myself and the 4 1/2 my wife bought for me. The sort of tool I would love to have but have a hard time justifying.

6. 
   Midnight | Sep 11, 2003 03:18am | #9

   Scare...

   this past month saw me buy 4 L-N planes.... and if the need arose, I wouldn't think twice about expanding that number. It's not snobbery.. simply a matter of no other manufacturer making the designs that the stock I'm working with needed. Their workmanship is exemplary. Performance when compared to the Stanleys in my collection is like chalk and cheese. Blades sharpened to identical profiles on identical stones should have comparable performance..... or so I thought.... boy was I wrong.

   Straight outa the box, the Stanleys needed between 2 and 5 hours of work before I could use them; sole plates needed flattening and moderate polishing, frogs needed adjusting, the mouth needed light de-burring. The L-N's needed 3 minutes on a honing stone and they're good to go. They're far less tiring to use (observed working on quarter sawn Scots oak and quarter sawn Sycamore). To make the Stanley#'s 5&7 work properly, I felt as if I'd to really wring their necks, whereas the L-N's simply...... worked..... first time.... every time. As far as down time was concerned, they hold their edge far longer, and can be tuned to take a far finer shaving (call me sad but I measured the shaving thickness).

   I'll cut to the chase.... if I needed another plane that only L-N is manufacturing, I'd buy it in a heartbeat..... given a choice of manufacturers for a similar profile plane, I'd need some convincing that L-N wasn't going to give me value for money.

   hope this helps....

   Mike Wallace

   Stay safe....Have fun

1. 
   AlanTurner | Sep 11, 2003 10:10pm | #11

   I ahve some L-N's also, and like them quite well.  But the Gordon smoother is also a great plane, and a bit less spendy.

   Alan