Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let's be blunt for a moment. You even looking at this tool implies you're not capable or willing to drop 400$ on a "high quality" number 7 plane. I bought this for straight joinery, nothing more. Initial Impressions -> Out of the box, the plane is covered in some oil substance more akin to cosmoline than I have ever seen on another tool. Good stuff for corrosion prevention, terrible stuff to get off. Soap and water typically works on most "oil coatings" I find, but this just laughed it off. Stepped up to windex, which still did nothing, so then I had to use lacquer thinner which finally did the trick. That not-withstanding, I did a full inspection of the tool, and heres what I found - rosewood handles are finished poorly. That said, we're woodworkers right? easy fix. The shape is pleasing and large, and the wood was nice, so this wasn't entirely unexpected honestly. - Using a 4" starrett engineers square, I checked for flatness. No visible light through any point of the sole. It is dead flat, as required. - Using a 36" starrett machinist scale, I checked for cupping. Again, no visible light. Dead flat. - Frog is finished poorly. The top looks ok, but the bottom looked awful. Not a deal breaker though. - The black coating is thick... almost too thick. Long lasting protection I suppose? - The weight is substantial (good for this kind of plane, mind you) Lets talk about the blade for a moment. I am not a huge fan of this blade. Came out of factory with a very shallow angle, I did not use a protractor (sorry!), but when I set it for 30 degrees for what I was hoping a double angle, boy was I surprised when it was more shallow than 30. Appeared to be about 40 degrees! unacceptable! I spent a good hour rehoning the edge to 27 degree secondary with a 25 degree primary angle. Shavings were clean and crisp. I am unsure how long this blade will be "good" for, as the steel seemed to scratch easily (bad sign for edge retention). I will udpate after some prolonged usage. Even WITH a replacement blade added into the cost (HOCK makes great blades for 20-40$), this appears to be a well made, solid piece for the money. UPDATE -> Dialed in the blade, got it set up perfectly. Went to some 1x4 pine to test the blade, and after a few strokes, the blade pulled a VERY large burr, which is unacceptable. This blade was not hardened at all, or was accidentally annealed during the tempering process. Useless blade, ordering a wood river V3 T-10 replacement blade.