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I was wondering what members experiences using Japanese planes have been like? I personally love Japanese saws, I have a few and the cutting on the pull seems like such a better concept. They seem to cut straighter and definately faster. I have a Clifton No 4 smoothing plane, and an old bailey plane(Not sure on the size, It's small.) They both work good but I'm looking to expand and I've had such great results with Japanese saws, I thought I might give the hand planes a try.

I have a couple of planes I reach for all the time - several homemade "finger"/block planes and a couple of Japanese planes I've been using for a decade.

Like anything else, there are lots of opinions and debate, but I've found their (Japanese pull planes) performance to be outstanding. I would say that the learning curve is definitely steeper. Getting the plane performing well, and maintaining it is certainly more work - as it is for all wooden planes.

My recommendation is to get the Odate book, and tune up a decent entry level plane. A nice size for general use is 48-50mm, with a lower angle, something like 38-42 degrees. These are comfortable to hold and really nice in softer woods like spruce, cedar & mahogany. 55-60mm is nice for smoothing plates. The 70mm size is a bit large for my needs, but your mileage may vary.

What it really depends on is what you intend to use them for, and how much effort you want to put into learning to use them. Once you're comfortable with them, they give you a lot of freedom and incredible performance. I couldn't go back to my Stanleys - the feedback and feel is so much better than traditional iron tools, IMO.

Thanks for replying, after so many views and no replies I was beginning to wonder...but you've reconfirmed what I have been told before so I think I'll pick one up.