HNT Gordon vs. LV Shoulder Plane

[Matt Van Heiden]

I've read a lot of good reviews on the Veritas medium shoulder plane and I don't ever recall seeing a bad one on the 3/4" HNT Gordon. My question is has anyone ever used both? If so, I'd like to here how they perform compared to each other. Also how they handle during use. My guess is that they are about the same with a slight edge in handling going to the LV and in the end it will come down to personal preference- steel, wood, aesthetics, etc. I really like the looks of the HNT Gordon and am leaning towards it, but just want to hear thoughts of others that have used both.

[Casey Gooding]

I think the HNT is more comfortable in the hand. However, it's more finicky to adjust. The Lie-Nielsen is easier to adjust and get a really fine shaving with. I think if you could combine the comfort and wood of the HNT with the mechanical adjustment and adjustable mouth of the Lie-Nielsen, it would be just about perfect.

[Larry Williams]

Shoulder planes are low angle planes designed for end grain. IMO, the Gordon plane is a high angle rabbet plane, not a shoulder plane. Here's a photo of an old commercially made boxwood shoulder plane that shows the structural failure one expects to find in low angle wooden planes. You can see the crack coming off the back of the escapement:

http://www.planemaker.com/photos/shldr.jpg

The brass sole isn't original and it is one of the skeletons in my closet from back when I didn't know better and thought I might be able to repair the failure.

[Ed Harrison]

I agree with Larry. I have both and the HNT Gordon is a different animal than a normal shoulder plane. It is good for spot applications where you need a high angle cutting edge in a precise place.

[Derek Cohen]

I've read a lot of good reviews on the Veritas medium shoulder plane and I don't ever recall seeing a bad one on the 3/4" HNT Gordon. My question is has anyone ever used both? If so, I'd like to here how they perform compared to each other. Also how they handle during use. My guess is that they are about the same with a slight edge in handling going to the LV and in the end it will come down to personal preference- steel, wood, aesthetics, etc. I really like the looks of the HNT Gordon and am leaning towards it, but just want to hear thoughts of others that have used both.

Matt

The HNT Gordon is a beautiful looking shoulder plane and it is very comfortable in the hand. However it is not as good as the Veritas Medium on ergonomic grounds.

Review of the Veritas Medium and comparison with the HNT Gordon: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/The%20Veritas%20Medium%20Shoulder%20Plane.html

I owned and used the Gordon for a few years. Every time I used it I was amazed that it worked as well as it did. It works very well ... but it shouldn't - because of its high cutting angle (60 degrees). It seems to defy logic.

The Gordon is really a cross between a shoulder plane and a rebate plane. Terry writes ..

" The 60 degree blade pitch is about 10 to 15 degrees above that of a shoulder plane with a low bed, due to the bevel up situation in these planes. When I tested the difference between say a 45 degree pitch say in record shoulder plane, and the 60 degrees in my plane I found no difference in the ability to do shoulder plane work on a majority of woods. What I found was important was the blade needed to be sharp and the bevel angle had to be no more than 30 degrees. With really soft woods the low angle shoulder plane worked very slightly better but if I sharpened the bevel to 25 degrees it was hard to pick the difference. However, there was a big benefit with the 60 degree blade pitch if I used the shoulder plane to plane rabbits or rebates, particularly in curly woods and I had the benefit of being able to use the plane as a scraper by reversing the blade. This benefit outweighed the very minimal degrade in performance when planing the shoulder on very soft woods".

Regards from Perth

Derek