# New Stanley Planes Hold Their Own



## wormil

Thanks for the review. I've been wondering about the new Sweetheart planes.


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## NoSpace

Nice to know they compare so well. I have a SW #4. It's my only plane. when i happen upon the right settings after sharpening for 30 seconds with a diamond fine + extra fine (nothing fancy) it feels like squeezing foam out of a sponge and I can't imagine how it could get better than that. But, given limited experience I feel like I need a reference point so I think about wood river / lie nelson for the next one to compare.


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## don1960

I have had the Stanley Sweetheart #4 for a year or so and agree with you about the quality. Also have a Veritas #6 and a Woodriver #5 1/2.

As you, I didn't have to do anything other than sharpen the blade to get all of them to work equally as well as the others. The Stanley holds it's own against anything out there. I can get .0008" shavings off any of them with a glass surface as a result. Took me a Looonngg time and watching countless videos, and hours of practice to be able to finally sharpen a blade properly, but once you figure it out, it's a life changing experience. Yea, maybe a little dramatic, but it is a wonderful thing.


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## vikingcape

I have the low angle jack plane. It cuts amazingly. Also I broke the handle by twisting it too hard (I always do something stupid like that). I emailed stanley to ask where I can buy a new part for it since it was my own stupid fault. They replied with an email saying that they are sending a new part in the mail. Even they know that it was my fault they still sent the part, free of charge. Pretty cool I think.


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## gargey

These posts are erroneous.

Everyone knows woodworking results are proportional to the amount paid for the tool times the "user coefficient" X.

X = ( distance from large city ) x ( how much the person dislikes hanging out in large groups ) / ( haircuts per year )


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## jimintx

I need to shop for a some of these! 
I could use the block and the no. 4. and in fact several - as my plane collection is weak to useless :-(

What model numbers should I look for for these planes?

Thanks for the review, and the followup comments.


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## mramseyISU

I've got 3 of them myself and they're all good planes. The only "problem" I have had is with the Number 4. It's got a norris style adjuster and I just don't like that style. There's nothing functionally wrong with it, I just prefer the bailey style depth adjuster with a separate lateral adjustment.


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## Dedvw

I'm from Maine and I want to like LN sooo bad. They are just too small for my hands and uncomfortable to use. You can see in your picture how small their block plane is.


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## Ted78

Look at that, My user Coefficient X is off the charts! I don't typically pay anything like double digits for tools though. .25 or around around $3.00 is the sweet spot. I'm sure if I just dropped a few grand an an ebony and ivory handled, hand forged, damascus steel, gold filled screwdriver I could easily make three or four Bombe Chests a week. I'll just stick with what I have though and make some door stops. maybe a paperweight.


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## woodbuster

Stanley must have cleaned up their act on the "Sweetheart" tools since their introduction a few years ago. It is pretty unusual to see a favorable review, no less multiple ones, as above in other hand tool forums. I won't go further, since I don't have any Sweetheart tools except a couple of their socket chisels. Also glad to hear they are offering customer support, which was minimal before. There are some surprisingly low prices for these tools if you shop around, especially in stores that may sell a lot of regular Stanley products but are clueless about real woodworking hand tools.


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