A little more background on why I don't think quangsheng has had to do a whole lot compared to LN (though making anything consistent in quality in china requires a lot more involvement than ordering from "Uncle Walter" on alibaba.
The first QS planes were a cheapened version of LN's planes. They had sort of nasty looking handles, but otherwise copied a lot of the elements. Steel was some kind of water or oil hardening steel for the blades (which in my opinion would generally be a benefit, but it probably wasn't as flat as A2 comes out (including after post heat treatment true-up). However, they chose to copy the bronze elements that were on LN planes, and I'm sure woodcraft had to spec that they be changed.
On the V3 planes, as I understand it, much of the changes were just to change from LN designed items (that LN themselves probably altered due to modern manufacturing machinery). However, LN planes had, at one point, a problem with setting the cap iron. Since LN didn't know what the cap iron was for, a lot of earlier planes had the cap iron made so that it couldn't quite get to the edge of the iron and still be able to advance the iron into the cut.
The woodriver planes copied this flaw, as some have shown up with it. I find that a little odd, as I saw the same mentioned on another forum regarding a plane a year or two old (not one copied soon after LN and woodcraft parted ways). If WR had done any development with competent users, they'd have found that to be an issue. LN fixed it once it was brought to their attention, but it did go many years because nobody was really using the cap iron to mitigate tearout. Once it was a known issue, people started complaining about it and it was clear that it wasn't uncommon. I don't think Rob Cosman knows what to do with a cap iron, but few seem to.
Nothing I posted above hasn't been said publicly. I'll say on behalf of Jeff (the president at Woodcraft) that WC took a lot of heat during that time here in the states, but he was not allowed to post on any forums to rebut any of it or tell his side without handing a bunch of money to sawmillcreek (there and woodnet was where most of the flaming took place). The owner of the SMC forum will not let non-advertisers post, not even as individuals (Jeff's - I think that was his name - handle was banned when he registered, unless he pays to be an advertiser). Tom Lie-Nielsen doesn't do forums, they were caustic at the time, so the only thing i knew about was that a plane was sent to china (Still don't know if LN or Woodcraft did it. If they were working together to solve a supply issue, it could've been either one).
LN's elimination of allowing retailers here to discount pretty much solved my buying much from them, but after I cast off all of my planes (due to preference for stanley planes and woodies), i did buy a bronze 4. I have to give them credit, that was about 8 or 10 years ago now that this whole debacle occurred, and their retail prices have stayed about the same.
At the same time the LN planes were copied, some knock offs of LV tools were made and sold at woodcraft and japan woodworker sold under a "borg" brand. I think I saw them on the QS tool site in china before that site disappeared (perhaps at woodcrafts' request? who knows?). Both WC and Japan woodworker have an appetite for huge margins. WC has to support a franchise system, there's really no way to have cut throat prices and have franchises be able to afford to operate, so I can identify with that. JWW (this is my opinion) just thrived for years as a mail order company catering to an uneducated buyer. When JWW sold, it seemed fitting that they went to Woodcraft, because little needed to change. JWW is filled with garbage narratives, like "mr. matsumura's wife sometimes assists by swinging a hammer". Come on. I'll bet that many of the catalog recipients actually believe that.
I do hope that woodcraft and LN both stay in business for a long time. They're far different businesses, and probably destined to not get along, but as much hate as woodcraft gets here in the states because the boutique tool clique loves tom lie-nielsen, they do have a case that they were selling LN planes hand over foot, and LN left them without a good option for a domestic plane.
The two together probably built the domestic stanley style boutique plane market here. Clifton was sold here, but customer support in the states was terrible and the problem rate much higher (which resulted in internet posts regarding expensive planes that clifton and highland passed the buck back and forth on). Lie Nielsen and Lee Valley easily ate their lunch. Service from both here in the states is exemplary, and woodcraft corporate's service is, also. They all go beyond what they really should have to. WC stores are franchises - at least some of them, so experience on the ground varies (hit or miss was miss locally here in western pennsylvania).
The sentiment here would've been different if the origin of the WR planes came out of a random retailer just sending an old bedrock or bailey plane to china to be copied.
I still prefer stanley's designs to all of the modern "improved", anyway, and would take a vintage stanley or record in any significant amount of work over QS/WR/LN or LV.
