I received a Veritas low angle spokeshave Saturday and put it to the test over the weekend. Right out of the box, it cut smoother than my Record spokeshaves, despite having a relatively rough blade. Shavings were very uniform and there was no tendency to chatter.

The tool is nicely made. The adjustments are very basic, but easy to do and solid when set. Setting the blade depth can be done by eye, or by setting the shave on a flat surface and slipping a few thicknesses of paper under the nosepiece, then tightening the two nosepiece retaining screws. Once set, there is little need to fool with it. The throat setting is accomplished by sliding the blade back and forth. If it's set too small, the shavings will jam, but they're simple to clear. The blade goes in and out in a flash, using two brass knobs. It's easy to return it to the same position, so you don't have to fiddle with it after sharpening or clearing the throat. When the throat is set properly, the shavings flow through smoothly and there is little or no tearout on the workpiece.

I found that only a light touch is necessary with this tool. I got the best results by resting my thumbs on the nosepiece and two fingers on each hand behind the handles. The handles could easily be shortened by and inch or two, if desired. I found that I had a tendency to rest my index fingers behind the throat, which caused the shavings to wad up, so try to avoid making this mistake. By varying the pressure on the shave, I found that I could produce anything from full depth, full width cuts to gossamer shavings of just the high spots on the workpiece.

The blade material (A2 steel) is very tough. Even diamond hones cut it slowly, so the sharpening process was rather lengthy. The difference in smoothness after honing and polishing is remarkable, so it's well worth the effort. The good news is that it takes a VERY sharp edge and HOLDS it! With my Record, I have to re-sharpen about 3/4 of the way through a cedar paddle, and by then the performance is seriously degraded. The Veritas made it through an entire
paddle with no signs of dulling at all.

Along with the shave, I purchased the blade holder for sharpening it. It works really well and is worth every penny of the purchase price. The blade pops in and out in a fraction of a second, but is held very securely. Between this and the ease of blade replacement on the shave, you can pop off the blade, polish it on a waterstone and be back in business in a couple of minutes. There's no excuse not to keep the edge shaving sharp at all times.

The only downside I found to this tool (for paddle making, at least) is that it doesn't follow straight edges as well as the record, even with the wide side of the nosepiece down. When planing long bevels on a paddle, I found it was necessary to pay close attention to the layout lines, as it was easy to produce a wavy edge. I usually touch them up with a block plane anyway, so it's not a problem, but I plan to make a longer nose piece for the shave that will help it follow long straight coutours better. Reversing the nosepiece per the instructions should allow the shave to follow a very tight curve, when desired.

All in all, Veritas low angle spokeshave is a great tool. Considering that it can replace two $23 Record shaves (flat and curved sole) and do a nicer job, to boot, it's a bargain at it's $39.95 price.

BTW, I have a Veritas low angle block plane on the way and I'll post a review of it when I get a chance to put it through it's paces.