Mike's right, the internet blows almost everything way out of proportion. Let me see if I can add a subtler perspective.
Here are the three planes that I use the most, a Record 5 1/2 with a normal thin iron (although it's one of the earlier
laminated thin irons), a Lie Nielsen 5 1/2, and a Veritas bevel up jack (it may not look like a Veritas, but that's because I didn't like the original handles so made different ones). As a full time furniture maker that adds up to
thousands of hours with these three planes, spread across
scores of different timbers.
Because I work a lot with highly figured wood, which tears out as soon as look at it, it's more efficient to keep two 5 1/2 planes on the bench. One with a closely set cap iron and one with a regular setting, but for most makers you'll only need one.
Here's what I've found.
If you're working with softwoods or temperate zone hardwoods, then a properly sorted Record or Stanley will deliver a shaving, and more importantly a workpiece surface, that's
indistinguishable from one produced by a Lie Nielsen or Veritas plane. So if the budget's tight you'd be crazy not to look very seriously at this option. It's also worth pointing out that woodworking is a more expensive hobby than many anticipate. Even using second hand tools you can easily sink £2,000 into hand tools and workshop essentials. But if you go the premium tool route then you must be prepared to spend much more, maybe more like £5,000. And that's before you even start thinking about machinery.
So am I saying a Record or Stanley is every bit as good as a Lie Nielsen? No I'm not. Most used Stanley or Record planes can be brought back into service, but there are some that will require a lot of work to make them perform even acceptably, and there are a few that are pretty much basket cases. Buying older tools is a lottery in a way that buying a Lie Nielsen just isn't. Sure, the odds are on your side with a used Record or Stanley, but if you're unlucky and end up with one with a deeply scored sole from planing plywood edges, or a deeply pitted iron, or a badly cast frog, or a warped or cracked sole, or a cap iron that refuses to seat properly; then you're facing a great deal of remedial work that you may not have the skills or the energy to complete.
Furthermore, no matter how well tuned a Record or Stanley is, it will never feel quite as silky smooth as a Lie Nielsen. I notice this most when I've taken a rough sawn or band sawn edge and I'm planing it smooth. The efficient route is to start taking deep cuts and then progressively go finer. I've never handled a Record or Stanley that is
quite as good as a Lie Nielsen, they're always that bit stiffer or sloppier to operate, more resistance on the depth of cut wheel, and more backlash too. I've invested plenty of time trying to raise their performance, but I can never
quite get there. Incidentally, the Veritas bevel up plane is probably the worst of all in this respect, the Norris style adjuster means you cannot adjust depth of cut on the fly. You have to remove your right hand from the rear handle and then make a separate adjustment. It's not the end of the world, but when you're deep into a project doing this for the umpteenth time then it's an irritant that only grows.
Lots of people will argue about the thicker A2 or powdered metal irons. In my practical experience, when you're working on long grain planing of temperate zone hardwoods, it's just not that big a deal. After many years I've got into a rhythm of honing after about ten or twelve minutes of constant planing, and that's generally do-able with either a thin carbon steel iron or with a thick A2 iron. However, I've got a dedicated sharpening station just a few feet from my bench. If you have to clear away the work from your bench and get out your sharpening kit, then you might place more value on a tool that lasts more strokes before becoming unusably blunt. Furthermore, long grain and temperate zone hardwoods aren't the full scope of a plane's duties. Once you get into end grain planing, especially on really tough and abrasive stuff like Rosewood, then I find my Record irons get noticeably blunter within a minute (let's say fifty plane strokes), after a while honing at sixty second intervals becomes a bit tiresome. You can still get the job done (just look at Alan Peters, who used a Record plane on materials like this all his working life), but you'll handle end grain planing faster and more efficiently with an A2 iron.
Sticking with sharpening, in my opinion you shouldn't consider a plane with a thicker iron unless you have a power grinder or linisher. In fact I'm sceptical that a water cooled power wheel is really up to the challenge unless you're a very occasional user. To use thick irons efficiently you have to keep regrinding the primary bevel. If you don't then more and more of your woodworking time will get eaten up with marathon stints at the stone, rubbing away for many minutes instead of a few seconds. You might think an ultra coarse diamond stone changes this equation, I've tried it and I'm not convinced.
And there's another dimension related to sharpening, and that's forming a camber. I've often seen an experience craftsman use the plane of another experienced craftsman, and then remark how uncomfortable they were with the tool. In most cases it's subtle differences in the camber that is throwing them off. A beginner wouldn't notice any difference between them, but the longer you work wood the more important these tiny differences become. And with enough time at the bench I suspect you too will become obsessive about the camber on your plane irons! Furthermore, it's always a work in progress, every time you hone you're consciously or subconsciously evolving that camber.
But here's the thing, forming and maintaining the perfect camber is much, much harder on a bevel up plane than on a bevel down plane. To give one example, I suspect that a beginner taking up woodworking with a bevel up plane would likely never develop the subtle appreciation of cambers to the position where they can efficiently and accurately edge joint boards. They'll either use a planer/thicknesser to do all or most of their edge jointing for them, or they'll simply resign themselves to gappy, ugly glue lines on their jointed up tops.
In summary my advice to a beginner would be, unless you've got exceptionally deep pockets then get a second hand Record or Stanley, but be patient and look for the very best example you can find. Do this in the knowledge that you won't get a Mercedes driving experience from a Fiat, but you'll still get to where you need to go. If you're dealing with a lot of end grain, or if sharpening is a disruptive process that you need to delay, then think about an aftermarket A2 or PMV II iron. But if you go this route then also get an inexpensive grinding wheel and learn how to use it. Bevel up planes are lovely tools, but leave them for later on in your woodworking career. I've got one, but I use it almost exclusively for end grain and for shooting where cambers aren't critical.
Most important of all, whatever plane you choose, set yourself some basic planing challenges. Like bringing a rough sawn board to "six square", and
perfectly edge jointing two boards. You'll need to invest forty or fifty hours in mastering these challenges, but along the way you'll learn lessons about sharpening, cambers, and tool fettling that will make you a far better woodworker in the long run.
Good luck!
