# 97-1/2 Chisel Plane: Veritas or Lie-Nielsen?



## MLD (Oct 27, 2013)

I have been pondering the purchase of a chisel plane for some time and have decided to purchase one. Ideally, I would love a Stanley 97. Finding one at a cost near a new 97-1/2 is rare. The new 97-1/2 cp's are designed with a little more to them as well. I am trying to decide between the Lie-Nielsen and the Veritas. The LN has more heft and weighs about twice that of the Veritas. The Veritas has a strange set of bevels on the sides of the blade, but has some guiding features that seem to be good as well.

What do YOU think? Help me out! Thanks.

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/chisel-plane

vs

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=70929&cat=1,230,41182,48945


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## JohnChung (Sep 20, 2012)

I prefer the LN itself. More ergonomics and brass. The question is what are you aiming this plane for? I find block planes very capable of doing most jobs of this plane.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

Both look like excellent planes, and in fact, I have the LN.

That's what I would buy again, but that might be my OCD kicking in, since I like having matching sets of tools, or maybe, just maybe it's because they make a great product! Yeah, that's what I'm going with.

Really, either way you will have a quality tool.

Lee


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## sikrap (Mar 15, 2009)

Both are excellent tools, but I would spend the extra $11 on the Lie-Nielsen to get the lifetime warranty. Not that I expect anything bad will happen, but for $11…


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Either would work well. Same length and width, but the LN is ~1 lb heavier due to the bronze. The Veritas would appear to have the ergonomics edge with the knob design, and the side set screws for blade alignment are a functional plus (they work well in their other planes). Warranty and customer service is a dead heat. As is typical with LN vs Veritas, if you want the prettier tool, get the LN. If you want the better engineered tool, get the Veritas. Veritas seems to always win in my decisions (something to do with being an engineer I suspect….).


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## MLD (Oct 27, 2013)

I too am an engineer and enjoy the adjustability of the Vertitas, but wonder if it is truly valuable versus the weight of the LN. I heard that the heavier body helps with the quality of cut.

It would be neat if each company would send me one so I could test them and give a report .


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