Lee Valley Plane Iron

When I got my Stanley SW #3 I decided to get a new iron for it. Since Lee Valley was having a nice little sale last week, it was the perfect time to get one. I've been using a Lee Valley back iron on my #5 and really like it. It was time to try one of their irons.

The original SW #3 iron and back iron next to the Lee Valley/Veritas set.

The LV blade is ever so slightly thicker. One thing I like about their back irons is the close fit to the iron. It's a lot less set up work.

The LV iron comes already ground and ready to use.

LV laps all of their irons to a perfect flatness. There is no real need to flatten them further. However, in use, you will be hitting the back on the stone during sharpening.

Mouth with the original iron.

The additional thickness of the LV blade helps close up the mouth a little.

Ready to use. Hmmm...

Curly maple

Sepia. OK. We'll say it's ready to use out of the box.

A shot of the fit between the iron and back iron. These new fangled back irons allow for a much closer alignment. I'm into 'em.

I really like this iron/back iron set. I'm glad I purchased it. Even though they are ready from the box, I reground the blade to my angle jigs after trying them out. All of my irons are done to the same jigs, and therefore it's just easier to have them all set up the same.