Yesterday, while traveling, I stopped in at a Woodcraft. Being a hand tool junkie, I took a very close look at the hand planes, and I have to say, they appear very nicely done. Now, I'm a fan of the Stanley 65 low angle block plane, having maybe 3 or 4 or 5, several of which are knuckle caps. As anyone familiar with the Stanley 65 also knows, these planes are prone to cracking at the corners behind the mouth. I took a very close look at the Woodriver copy, and went a far as to check the sole for flatness (corner of the sole of displayed bench planes and yes I checked several of them against the block plane). The sole was flat. Taking the plane apart, the machining was crisp and nicely done, with no burrs anywhere. Anyhow, as I was about to put the plane back into its box, I noted the blade (1/8" thick, was O1) and that did it for me. The plane came home with me.
Early this morning, I took the plane completely apart for a thorough cleaning (not much to that!) and a sharpening of the blade (the bevel was a few degrees out of square to the length of the blade. Squared and sharpened, I took the plane to a piece of hard pine, and made nice, wispy shavings.
This was an impulse buy and I certainly was not in need of another block plane. The Woodriver, at less than $100.00, certainly merits consideration, for anyone looking for a block plane. Time will tell how the blade holds up, and you have to get past any adverse feelings one may have for imported tools, but this plane has many premium attributes at a reasonable price. For me, it will be placed in my tool tote for jobs in and around the house, leaving my more expensive planes for bench work,