I'm surprised the Stanley 98/99 weren't mentioned sooner; for me, at
least, these are comfortable in my hand, and none of the others are.

"Pay a fortune" seems an overstatement to me, and I'm a bottomfeeder.
Last year at the Alameda Flea I finally bought a user 98 with depth
gauge, needing only light cleaning and sharpening, and paid $40 for it.
The same day I passed up a 99 for $80 (no cash left), and I saw this
same plane down to $60 this month (no cash left). I just browsed some
current dealers' lists and eBay, and this seems a good but not
gloatable price.

We all know the difficulty of comparisons, but my impression of the
current prices I scanned is that given comparable condition, age, and
luck, a single 98 or 99 will be somewhat less than the price of a 79,
but somewhat more than half the price. The Veritas double-bladed side
rabbit is $129, and you could probably pick up a user Stanley 98/99 pair
for less than that with very little waiting, or a Stanley 79 in the same
ballpark. The cheap option is a Kunz ($70), but my experience of Kunz
blades has been bad. Even the L-N isn't that much more expensive ($240
the pair), though more than I could spend.

I don't think a pair of 79s makes economic sense, but if they fit you
hand better that's another matter. It all seems to be about how they fit
your hand with side rabbets.

Tom Conroy

Back by popular request: "All theory, all the time." (One request, but
its popular with me).


 Nichael Cramer wrote:

" 2] The dream team, of course, is a pair of the Stanley (or LieNielsen)
side rebates.=A0 But be prepared to pay a fortune...

"3] An excellent fall back to the 98/99 pair (see item #2, Jeff) is to
get find yourself a nice *pair* of Stanley #79s... And, if you're not in
a rush you should be able to find two 79s for the price of _either_ a 98
_or_ a 99 by itself."



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