An effective tool for smoothing difficult or highly figured grain, the new scraping plane from Veritas features a 10-in.-long body made from ductile cast iron and a handle and knob made of bubinga. The plane comes with a blade that’s just under 1/16 in. thick; a 1/8-in.-thick blade is available as an option.

The adjustment wheel accommodates a variety of cutting angles and allows the depth of cut to be micro-adjusted. There’s also a thumbscrew at the back that bows the thin blade slightly, much like the curve that results in a flexed card scraper. The blade produces a shaving that feathers to nothing at its edges, eliminating blade tracks. The flexed curve also keeps the blade in tension, reducing chatter and vibration.

I used the plane on a benchtop laminated from figured honey locust. After flattening the top with bench planes, I turned to the Veritas, which quickly eliminated any torn grain, aggressively cutting shavings when I worked the grain in either direction. And, thanks to the large sole of the plane, the workpiece surface stayed flat and true. In short, this scraping plane outperformed any other I’ve ever used.

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