Faithfull No.7 Jointing Plane

I bought this plane expecting to have to spend several hours tuning it up before I was able to use it. It didn't take as long as I expected however, and once tuned the plane works perfectly. I did have a few issues with the plane, but nothing that would force me to discourage others from purchasing one.The first is the ordering process. It took several weeks for the plane to arrive, and no tracking was provided. However, it did come from overseas, so that's to be expected. If you're someone who gets jumpy when you don't know where your merchandise is you might want to see if you can find it domestically or order a different plane.Second, the packaging is sub-par. Compared to a Stanley plane I recently bought, the packaging for this tool looked like something you'd find at Harbor Freight. The cardboard was thin, and tended to deform while the package was being shipped. It was kind of a shock to pull the box out of the shipping package and wonder "What the hell, did I just waste a bunch of money on a piece of junk?" when you see a cheap cardboard package. Once you get the plane out of the box, it's clear that they really only scrimped on the package. Note that the packaging is so bad you may not be able to get the tool back in the box if you take it out. I had mine delivered to my office, and had to carry the plane home naked after I took it out to show some of my co-workers....These issues really had nothing to do with the plane itself. The plane was generally in good condition, and all the parts were machined relatively well. The sole was mostly flat, and only took about 20, maybe 25 minutes to get it completely true. The blade and chip breaker were in good condition for the most part, however the back side of the blade had serious cupping, and took a long time to get flat when I was sharpening the blade. Since tuning it, I haven't had any issues, however.A great tool and a good price if you're willing to put in a few hours work to get it set up perfectly.

Tool is ok, but the blade required to be resharpened a couple of times. It was not sharp enough to cut into soft wood.

I am somewhat new to woodworking hand tools, although have purchased quality items like Lie-Nielson in the past. Started to get back into the hobby and have been using more hand tools like planes and chisels. When my electric jointer needed to be serviced, I ordered a Stanley Sweetheart No 67 low-angle jack plan and the Stanley No 7 jointer plane, both planes were >$150 USD each. The Sweet Heart plane came first and pretty quickly. It is made in Mexico and is beautiful and works wonderfully right out of the box. The Stanley No. 7 was delayed. I started reading some of the reviews for it and was pretty concerned. I realize I may need to put some work into a plane but many really had poor results with the Stanley No 7, so I cancelled that order and ordered the Faithful No.7. The Faithful plane was <$90 USD. Many reviewers also complained about the Faithful plane, particularly on the shipping from the UK. I received my Faithful plane today in perfect condition. The sole is square and flat. Wooden handles (not plastic). and it even cut well before honing the blade - which is recommended. All in all I am very happy with my purchase; this seems like a great plane and worth the work to tweak it so it operates well. While I am a big Lie Nielson fan, their No 7 is 5 times the cost of this Faithful and currently unavailable. For me, I think I will still rely mostly on my electric jointer, but the Faithful will be a very cost-effective back-up

When you buy this, You are buying it to "true it up." It is not fair to give this product a bad review for simply sanding the sole, and honing the blade and chip breaker. You get what you pay for, but it terms of quality its great. No "extreme" issues. You are buying a rough plane here. Lie Neilson adjusts the cost for it to be done at the factory. Lie Neilson was once a rough plane in its manufacturing process. --THINK ABOUT IT--The only problem that is important that I have found, is the Yoke or "Y lever" seems TOO short, and maybe not as precise because of this reason. Its an integral part of the plane, and that is why it is important. This can be solved in removing the pin and placing another style on it. [...] has some for sale. Easy to fix!The second but minor problem is the pitting on the cap iron. -To me I like a tool that looks nice.The third problem that you are running a risk of if you were to buy this FAITHFULL product line of hand planes, is the "Tilt blade adjusting lever" or "lateral adjusting lever" that moves the blade right to left. It may be a little off. Or it may be the frog itself causing it to be off.You will run a risk of this in buying these hand planes. But may I remind you, that it is very hard to get the lateral adjusting lever working in symmetry with the frog.So, its not bad, Just a little bit off. Once they pin this lever on, ITS ON THERE! You cant fix it. Unless, you get a new frog, and re-center it for symmetry.But other than that, a quality plane. one that can contend with the high dollar ones, as long as you put a little work into them.It saved me a good bit of money, but sometimes you just got to compromise. Brush it up a little bit. Its not going to kill ya.'