The Bevel-down Planes Will Readily Repair Bevel-up tear-out

Someone asked me to comment on the Stanley 62 bevel up plane and give my view. I suspect it will be the same as any bevel up plane of its size and so I will reserve my view that all bevel up planes are limited and should not be seen as some recent development in the improvement of bench planes. Luxury planes are nice to have in the same way luxury cars like BMWs are over say a Ford if you can afford them, but the speed controls mean you get there in the same time and both will get you there in comfort.

I planed a leg of my sawhorse with a bevel-up plane finely set and sharp. The plane throat was wide enough but not overly wide and my shoulder jarred as the grain grabbed the plane before yielding up its rootedness around the knot. It's a strange enough thing that although grain tear-out is a common issue surrounding bevel-up planes, and of course it always has been, it seems to be an issue no one really wants to talk about. In my case it was more predictable because of the knot—some level of tear-out around knots is inevitable, but it also occurs frequently and predictably unpredictably on even straight grained wood.  A very typical occurrence and usually quite predictable.

I immediately switched to a #4 Stanley and whipped off six successive shavings to bottom out the tear-out. Only a feint trace remains because I stopped. It's still a sawhorse after all. Just an interesting point often missed by sales people and manufacturers.