Actually how useful do you find a bevel up bench plane?

[woodbloke]

Looking back at Ed's original post, the first point made is indeed about the grip and it is different. The tote is more upright than a Record and I was at first very sceptical about using mine. For me it was just a question of getting used to it, it's not a huge change, just a different way of holding the tool, but once I did get a feel for the plane, it's so good that it's the plane of choice now for general work where a finely set jack is needed - Rob

 

[Anonymous]

How useful? Very. If something happened to my LV LAJ, I would immediately get another. It felt odd at first but now I don't notice it and I really like the way the mass sits low.
I think the 12 degree bedding angle is fine for the LA jacks and jointers but I think the smoother would be better if it had a 20 degree bed. As Philly stated, most people will set the smoother for a high ep and this would give a much better relief angle.