[charles Tauber]

My primary formal education in using hand planes was from several weeks spent with Rob Cosman. At the time, Rob was the Canadian distributor for Lie Nielson. During the time spent with him, I used, literally, every tool in Lie Nielson's line-up at that time. After parting company with LN, Rob went on to be a consultant for the Wood River line of tools.

I have a fair number of LN planes. I have found them to be of good quality and well made and have had no problems with any of them.

I also have a fair number of Lee Valley planes - and many of their other tools. In general, like Howard, I like the adjustment mechanisms of the LV planes better. I also like the pair of set screws that govern the lateral placement of the blade, a feature not found on LN planes.

I have a few of the same plane from each of LV and LN. In some cases, I prefer the LV version. In others, I find little difference between them. In general, I find the newer designs of LV to be to my preference, an improvement over the more traditional Stanley-inspired versions of LN. Both work, but I often prefer the LV.

As an aside, I also have a few smaller Bridge City Tools planes. In general, although their designs are often a departure from traditional Stanley-style planes, I'd say they don't know how to design functional tools with moving parts, though they do a beautiful job of manufacturing them. I think it fair to say that their tools tend towards being collectors' items rather than good functional tools.

Howard's point of a narrower blade requiring less pushing force is certainly a valid consideration. One option is to skew the orientation of the plane to effectively reduce the blade angle, reducing the amount of force required to push the plane through the wood.