The 14-inch plane most people should own first, ranked on what each maker publishes: iron steel and thickness, sole tolerance, frog design and whether anyone will stand behind the casting.
We earn a commission when you buy through our Amazon links, at no extra cost to you. It never decides a ranking, and where the best tool in a class is one we earn nothing on, we say so and link it anyway. How this works.
The same Bedrock-pattern frog and lapped ductile body as our best first plane, stretched to a 14 in jack, with a cryogenically treated O1 iron the maker actually publishes a thickness and hardness for. Nothing else on this page combines that frog, that iron and this price.
Bevel-up at a 12 degree bed, which means the bevel you grind sets the cutting angle. Grind three irons at three angles and one plane covers end grain, general work and figured hardwood.
A ductile-iron No. 5 whose maker publishes the three things almost nobody at this price does: a sole tolerance (0.003 in), a numbered replacement iron in 3 mm O1, and a lifetime warranty that needs no receipt. The paperwork is better than the plane's reputation.
The best-documented jack plane under the premium tier
The 14 in version of Rockler's inspected plane: a ductile body, solid brass cap iron, an adjustable 45 degree frog, and a Certificate of Inspection recording that individual plane's sole flatness and blade hardness. The measurements are the argument; the warranty behind them is not.
Woodcraft's house premium line in the wide 5-1/2 size: a 2-3/8 in iron, stress-relieved ductile castings, a fully machined Bedrock-based frog, and just over seven pounds of mass. It is the plane on this page for someone who flattens wide hardwood and never wants it to chatter.
A 12 degree bevel-up jack in stress-relieved ductile iron with a 3/16 in iron and an adjustable mouth, at roughly half what the Stanley No. 62 costs. The bevel-up trick — three irons, three cutting angles, one plane — works the same here.
A gray cast iron No. 5 whose maker publishes a sole tolerance, a blade hardness and a bed angle — the same three numbers Rockler publishes — at hardware-store money. It is the budget pick because the paperwork exists, not because the casting is special.
The cheapest No. 5 with a published flatness tolerance
#ad· Live prices from the Amazon Product API, as of Sep 24, 2026. Where we have no verified live price we show none, and the cost-per-decade figure is suppressed with it — we would rather leave a gap than print a number that has rotted.
The jack is the plane the hand plane hub tells you to buy first, and until now it was the one plane class on this site without a ranked page. A No. 5 is 14 inches long, which is long enough to bridge the low spots on a rough board and short enough to push all day, and that combination is why it does more of the work in a hand-tool shop than any other plane. Set coarse it hogs off saw marks; set fine it smooths a face well enough to finish; on a shooting board it squares an end. If you only ever own one bench plane, this is the size, and what is a jack plane explains why at more length.
The list below has two kinds of plane on it, and you should decide between them before you read the rankings. Five are bevel-down No. 5s: the Bailey pattern with a frog, a cap iron and a 45 degree bed, the design every vintage Stanley shares. Two are bevel-up No. 62s: a 12 degree bed with the iron flipped over, no frog and no cap iron, where the bevel you grind sets the cutting angle. They do the same jobs. They are set up, sharpened and adjusted differently, and mixing the two systems in one shop means two sharpening routines. Bevel up vs bevel down is the page that settles which camp you are in.
How we ranked them
We have not handled any of these planes. What we did is what the whole site does: open every maker's and retailer's own product page, tabulate what each one is willing to write down, and rank on that. The sources are linked at the bottom and quoted in the write-ups. Four things decided the order.
The iron, as published.A jack works hard and dulls fast, so the iron is the part that matters most and the part makers are vaguest about. One plane on this page publishes a named steel grade, a thickness and a hardness; two publish a named grade and a thickness but no hardness; three publish a thickness and a hardness with the steel described only as “carbon” or “tool” steel; one publishes a width and the words “high carbon” and nothing else. We ranked a named O1 or A2 grade over an unnamed one, and a stated thickness over silence.
The sole, as published. Four of the seven makers print a flatness tolerance: 0.003 in from Jorgensen and Taytools on the No. 62, 0.002 to 0.004 in from Rockler and Big Horn. Rockler goes further and ships a certificate with the measured figure for that individual plane. The two Bedrock-frog planes here, from WoodRiver and Taytools, publish no tolerance at all, which is a strange place for the silence to be.
The frog.On a bevel-down plane the frog is what holds the iron rigid, and a Bedrock-pattern frog — fully machined, in full contact with the body, adjustable without removing the iron — is the feature the premium makers built their reputations on. Two planes here have one; the rest are Bailey-type, which works but needs the frog off to move the mouth. On the bevel-up planes there is no frog to rank, which is part of their appeal.
Who stands behind the casting.The usual finding on this site, and the usual surprise. Two planes on this page carry a published lifetime warranty: the Stanley, which excludes the iron, and the Jorgensen, whose maker requires no receipt. The other five publish no warranty at all, including every plane priced above the Jorgensen except the Stanley. The reference plane at the top of the page, the Lie-Nielsen No. 5, states on its own product page that materials and workmanship are guaranteed for the life of the tool — a line we quote in full because it is stronger than what we had previously found from that maker.
What is not on this page, and why
The Stanley Bailey No. 5is the obvious omission. It is the plane most people mean when they say “jack”, and on the day we checked, the Amazon listing for the current 12-005 was marked currently unavailable with no price. We do not feature a plane you cannot buy. If it comes back, it belongs on this list; until then the Stanley No. 4 on the main roundupis the way to get Stanley's lifetime cover on a bench plane, and a vintage No. 5 from the restore hub is the traditional way to get a jack for less.
Lie-Nielsen and Veritasmake the best jack planes sold in North America and neither is sold through Amazon, so neither can be a ranked pick and we earn nothing if you buy one. The Lie-Nielsen is linked from the top pick's card as a plain reference, with what its page publishes. The WoodRiver No. 5 in the standard width exists and is a fine plane, but its Amazon listing carries no brand name in the title, which fails our rule that a listing has to identify itself before we link it; the 5-1/2 from the same line is here instead. And no wooden or Japanese jacks, which are a different enough tool that wooden vs metal planes covers them on their own terms.
The order, briefly
The Taytools Bedrock No. 5 is first because it is the only bevel-down plane here that combines a Bedrock frog, a lapped body and a fully published iron, and it does it at around half the money of the two planes that compete with it on the frog. The Stanley No. 62 is second, not because it is a worse plane — it is our best hand plane overall — but because it is a bevel-up plane on a list most people arrive at wanting a Bailey; if you are in the bevel-up camp, it is your first pick. The Jorgensen is third on paperwork alone: it is the only jack under the premium tier with a lifetime warranty, a numbered replacement iron and a sole tolerance all in writing. The Rockler is fourth for its certificate, the WoodRiver fifth as the specialist wide plane, the Taytools No. 62 sixth as the budget bevel-up, and the Big Horn seventh as the cheapest plane on the site with a published tolerance.
Every pick, in full
The write-ups
01Best jack plane overall
Size
No. 5 jack, 14 in sole, 2-1/2 in wide
Iron
O1, cryo treated, 0.120 in, 54-58 HRc, 2 in
Frog
Bedrock-style, full-contact, mouth adjusts with iron in place
Body
Ductile cast iron, sole and sides lapped
Warranty
None published; 90-day return on unused items
Taytools #5 Bedrock-Style Jack Plane
Taytools
8.2/10
The same Bedrock-pattern frog and lapped ductile body as our best first plane, stretched to a 14 in jack, with a cryogenically treated O1 iron the maker actually publishes a thickness and hardness for. Nothing else on this page combines that frog, that iron and this price.
Cost per decade
$70.00
Horizon · tier C
20 years — No lifetime warranty; parts purchasable and resharpenable
No lifetime warranty published at the date checked. The iron is a standard Bailey-pattern size, so aftermarket replacements from third-party makers are purchasable, and the body is a casting with no consumable part.
Rebuy risk
Medium
parts listed, resharpenable
Sole & body
8.5
Iron & edge
8.0
Adjustment
8.5
Out of box
8.0
Parts & repair
7.0
Value
9.0
What it gets right
+Bedrock frog with full-surface contact to the body, adjustable without pulling the iron — the feature the premium makers charge for
+Maker publishes the iron spec: 0.120 in O1, cryogenically treated, 54-58 HRc
+Sole and sides stated as lapped flat over the full length, so it can shoot as well as flatten
+Roughly half the money of the Woodcraft and Rockler jacks below it
What it costs you
−No warranty published and no flatness tolerance figure, unlike the Rockler and Big Horn planes
−54-58 HRc is softer than the A2 and O1 irons on the premium planes; expect to hone sooner
−Taytools states its own basic replacement irons do NOT fit its Bedrock planes, so a spare iron is not a catalog item
−Listed with a real but modest stock count at the time of check
Skip this if…
…you want a documented lifetime warranty. The Jorgensen one row down has one; this plane is here on the strength of its frog and iron, not its paperwork.
We earn nothing on this one
The best No. 5 you can buy in North America is a Lie-Nielsen, and it is not sold on Amazon, so we earn nothing on it. Ductile iron, a 0.125 in cryo-treated A2 iron at Rockwell 60-62, and — verbatim from the product page — materials and workmanship guaranteed for the life of the tool, with parts and repairs on request. Buy direct from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Bevel-up at a 12 degree bed, which means the bevel you grind sets the cutting angle. Grind three irons at three angles and one plane covers end grain, general work and figured hardwood.
Cost per decade
$68.15
Horizon · tier A
30 years — Lifetime warranty, cited
Stanley publishes a limited lifetime warranty on hand tools against material and workmanship defects. Note it excludes consumables including 'any blade' — the casting is covered, the iron is not. Bailey-pattern irons are a standard size and replacements are widely sold.
Rebuy risk
Low
lifetime warranty, parts listed, resharpenable
Sole & body
8.5
Iron & edge
8.5
Adjustment
8.0
Out of box
8.0
Parts & repair
9.0
Value
7.0
What it gets right
+One body, three effective cutting angles, if you buy spare irons
+Low bed angle plus adjustable mouth is the best end-grain setup at this price
+Simple architecture: no frog to fettle, fewer things to get wrong
What it costs you
−Spare irons are the whole point and they are an extra purchase
−Bevel-up geometry means a chipped edge changes your cutting angle, not just your sharpness
−Heavier and longer than a smoother if that is the only job
Skip this if…
…you have already committed to a bevel-down set. Mixing the two systems means two sharpening setups for no benefit.
03The best-documented jack plane under the premium tier
Size
No. 5 jack, 14 in, 2 in cutter
Iron
O1, 3 mm (1/8 in), 25 deg, part #70731
Sole
Ground flat and square to 0.003 in, per maker
Body
Ductile iron, beech handles, stainless hardware
Warranty
Limited lifetime, no receipt required
Jorgensen No. 5 Jack Plane
Jorgensen
8.0/10
A ductile-iron No. 5 whose maker publishes the three things almost nobody at this price does: a sole tolerance (0.003 in), a numbered replacement iron in 3 mm O1, and a lifetime warranty that needs no receipt. The paperwork is better than the plane's reputation.
Cost per decade
$35.54
Horizon · tier A
30 years — Lifetime warranty, cited
Pony Jorgensen publishes a limited lifetime warranty against deficiencies in material and workmanship on its products, with no time limit on when the tool was bought and no receipt required; it excludes improper use, abuse, alteration and improper repair. The No. 5 product page lists the O1 iron as a numbered replacement part (#70731), so the wear part is purchasable from the maker rather than only from third parties.
Rebuy risk
Low
lifetime warranty, parts listed, resharpenable
Sole & body
7.5
Iron & edge
8.0
Adjustment
7.0
Out of box
7.5
Parts & repair
9.0
Value
9.0
What it gets right
+Pony Jorgensen's limited lifetime warranty applies with no receipt and no time limit — the strongest published cover on this page
+The O1 iron is a numbered part on the maker's own site, so the wear part is purchasable from the source
+Published sole tolerance of 0.003 in, which only the Rockler and Big Horn planes match here
+Thick 3 mm iron at a price closer to the budget planes than the premium ones
What it costs you
−Amazon's listing returned a live price but no availability string at the time of check; the maker's own site lists it as a current product
−The maker's No. 4 in the same line has a reputation for adjuster backlash; the No. 5 page publishes nothing about the adjuster
−Bed angle and weight are not published
−A Bailey-type frog, not a Bedrock: the frog must come off to adjust the mouth
Skip this if…
…the frog matters more to you than the warranty. The Taytools above it beds the iron better; this plane's argument is what is written down.
The 14 in version of Rockler's inspected plane: a ductile body, solid brass cap iron, an adjustable 45 degree frog, and a Certificate of Inspection recording that individual plane's sole flatness and blade hardness. The measurements are the argument; the warranty behind them is not.
Cost per decade
$100.00
Horizon · tier C
20 years — No lifetime warranty; parts purchasable and resharpenable
No lifetime warranty published at the date checked. The iron is a standard Bailey-pattern size, so aftermarket replacements from third-party makers are purchasable, and the body is a casting with no consumable part.
Rebuy risk
Medium
parts listed, resharpenable
Sole & body
9.0
Iron & edge
7.0
Adjustment
8.5
Out of box
8.0
Parts & repair
7.5
Value
7.5
What it gets right
+Ships with a Certificate of Inspection giving the measured sole flatness and blade hardness for that plane
+Rockler publishes the sole tolerance, 0.002 to 0.004 in, which almost nobody at this price does
+Solid brass cap iron and fittings rather than plated steel
+Rockler lists a spare blade for the No. 4 and No. 5, so the wear part is a catalog item
What it costs you
−Rockler's guarantee is 90-day satisfaction, not a lifetime warranty on the casting
−Carbon steel at 55-60 HRC, softer than the A2 and O1 irons on the planes above it
−The most expensive bevel-down No. 5 on this page after the WoodRiver, for a spec sheet the Big Horn largely matches
−Rockler's own site listed it below the Amazon price at the time of check
Skip this if…
…you are buying on warranty terms. This is the plane with the best published measurements on the page and one of the weakest published guarantees behind them.
Woodcraft's house premium line in the wide 5-1/2 size: a 2-3/8 in iron, stress-relieved ductile castings, a fully machined Bedrock-based frog, and just over seven pounds of mass. It is the plane on this page for someone who flattens wide hardwood and never wants it to chatter.
Cost per decade
$161.49
Horizon · tier C
20 years — No lifetime warranty; parts purchasable and resharpenable
No lifetime warranty published at the date checked. The iron is a standard Bailey-pattern size, so aftermarket replacements from third-party makers are purchasable, and the body is a casting with no consumable part.
Rebuy risk
Medium
parts listed, resharpenable
Sole & body
9.0
Iron & edge
8.0
Adjustment
8.5
Out of box
8.0
Parts & repair
7.0
Value
6.0
What it gets right
+The heaviest and widest plane on the page, which is exactly what a jack used for flattening wants
+Stress-relieved ductile castings and a fully machined frog, per the retailer's own spec sheet
+Woodcraft lists a V3 replacement blade that fits the 4-1/2, 5-1/2, 6 and 7
+In stock at a large retailer rather than on a small maker's waiting list
What it costs you
−Woodcraft does not publish the iron's thickness, hardness or the bed angle for this size
−Priced against the premium makers without a published warranty
−Too wide and heavy for a general-purpose first jack; a standard No. 5 is the better all-rounder
−Woodcraft's own listing was priced below the Amazon one at the time of check
Skip this if…
…this would be your only bench plane. A 5-1/2 is a specialist flattening plane; buy a No. 5 first and this second.
A 12 degree bevel-up jack in stress-relieved ductile iron with a 3/16 in iron and an adjustable mouth, at roughly half what the Stanley No. 62 costs. The bevel-up trick — three irons, three cutting angles, one plane — works the same here.
Cost per decade
$72.00
Horizon · tier C
20 years — No lifetime warranty; parts purchasable and resharpenable
No lifetime warranty published at the date checked. The iron is a standard Bailey-pattern size, so aftermarket replacements from third-party makers are purchasable, and the body is a casting with no consumable part.
Rebuy risk
Medium
parts listed, resharpenable
Sole & body
8.0
Iron & edge
7.5
Adjustment
7.5
Out of box
7.5
Parts & repair
6.5
Value
8.5
What it gets right
+A 3/16 in iron, thicker than the Stanley's, on a bed the maker lapped to a published 0.003 in
+Adjustable mouth and a low bed, which is the end-grain setup that matters
+Stress-relieved ductile iron body at a price that undercuts every other No. 62 we found
+Lightest plane on the page, which some people prefer in a bevel-up jack
What it costs you
−The Amazon listing title says 55-60 HRC while the maker's own page says 60-65 HRc; one of them is wrong and we could not tell which
−No warranty published, against Stanley's limited lifetime cover on the No. 62
−Spare irons are the whole point of a bevel-up jack and the maker does not list one for this SKU
−Far less history behind the brand than Stanley
Skip this if…
…you plan to run the three-iron system. The Stanley has a listed replacement iron; this one does not, and a bevel-up jack without spare irons is just a long block plane.
07The cheapest No. 5 with a published flatness tolerance
Size
No. 5 jack, 14 in sole, 2-1/2 in wide
Iron
Hardened carbon steel, 1/8 in, 55-60 HRC, 2 in
Sole flatness
0.002-0.004 in, per maker
Body
Cast iron (not stated as ductile), 45 deg adjustable frog
Warranty
Not published
Big Horn 19328 Jack Plane, No. 5
Big Horn
6.7/10
A gray cast iron No. 5 whose maker publishes a sole tolerance, a blade hardness and a bed angle — the same three numbers Rockler publishes — at hardware-store money. It is the budget pick because the paperwork exists, not because the casting is special.
Cost per decade
$41.73
Horizon · tier C
20 years — No lifetime warranty; parts purchasable and resharpenable
No lifetime warranty published at the date checked. The iron is a standard Bailey-pattern size, so aftermarket replacements from third-party makers are purchasable, and the body is a casting with no consumable part.
Rebuy risk
Medium
parts listed, resharpenable
Sole & body
6.5
Iron & edge
6.0
Adjustment
7.0
Out of box
6.5
Parts & repair
6.0
Value
8.0
What it gets right
+Maker publishes a sole flatness tolerance, 0.002 to 0.004 in, which no other plane at this price on the site does
+Adjustable frog and a stated 45 degree bed, so it sets up like a Bailey
+Standard 2 in iron, so an aftermarket upgrade is a straightforward later purchase
+Sapele handles rather than plastic
What it costs you
−Body is stated as cast iron, not ductile — the only plane on this page without a ductile body, and the one to be careful with if dropped
−No warranty, weight or replacement iron published
−Softest published iron on the page alongside the Rockler, at 55-60 HRC
−Little maker history to check the published numbers against
Skip this if…
…you can stretch to the Jorgensen. The extra money buys a ductile body, a numbered O1 iron and a lifetime warranty; this plane's whole case is that it is cheap and measured.
A No. 5 is the general-purpose answer: 14 inches, a 2 inch iron, light enough to use for an afternoon. Buy it if you are buying one plane. A No. 5-1/2 is the same length with a 2-3/8 inch iron and more mass; it flattens wide panels faster and tires you faster, and it is a second plane rather than a first. A No. 62is the same length again with the iron bevel-up on a 12 degree bed: no frog, no cap iron, and the cutting angle set by the bevel you grind, so one plane with three irons at three angles covers end grain, general work and figured hardwood. The trade is that a bevel-up jack without spare irons is just a long block plane, and spare irons are an extra purchase — check that the maker lists one before you buy, because on this page one does and one does not. Jack plane vs jointer plane covers when the answer is actually a longer plane.
Reading the iron spec
Three numbers matter and makers publish them in descending order of willingness. Thickness first: a 1/8 in or 3 mm iron chatters less than the thin irons on vintage planes, and everything on this page that states a figure is at least that thick, and the Taytools No. 62 is the thickest at 3/16 in. Hardness second: 55-60 HRC is the common figure and it is fine, 60-62 is what the premium A2 irons run, and a harder iron holds an edge longer but chips more readily. Steel last: O1 sharpens easily and holds a keen edge, A2 holds an edge longer and is fussier to sharpen, and “carbon steel” with no grade tells you nothing at all. Where a maker's Amazon listing and its own site disagree on a number, as one does here, we say so on the card rather than pick the flattering one. A2 vs O1 steel has the full argument.
What a sole tolerance actually buys you
A published flatness figure is a promise about how much work the plane needs before it cuts properly. A sole out of flat by more than a few thousandths will not take a fine shaving no matter how sharp the iron is, and flattening one yourself is an evening with sandpaper on glass, which how to flatten a plane sole walks through. Four makers on this page publish a figure; the two priciest bevel-down planes do not. That is not evidence their soles are worse, only that you are trusting rather than reading. Rockler's certificate is the strongest version of this promise on the page: not a tolerance the line is held to, but the measurement of your plane.
Setting a jack up for rough work
A jack earns its name set coarse. Grind a slight camber on the iron — a few thousandths at the corners — open the mouth, set the cap iron well back, and take thick shavings across the grain to knock a rough board flat before a longer plane trues it. The same plane set fine, with the cap iron close and the mouth tight, will smooth. If the rough work is genuinely rough — sawn lumber with a twist in it — a scrub plane or a second, heavily cambered jack iron does it faster. Either way the plane arrives needing setup, and how to set up a hand plane is the page to open the day it arrives.
The warranty question, honestly
Two of the seven planes here have a lifetime warranty in writing. Stanley's covers the casting and, in its own words, excludes any blade. Pony Jorgensen's covers deficiencies in material and workmanship with no receipt and no time limit. Taytools and Woodcraft offer return windows on unused tools, Rockler a 90-day satisfaction guarantee, and Big Horn publishes nothing we could find. The cost-per-decade figure on each card is set from that evidence and prints the tier it came from, so a plane with a lifetime warranty is compared on a 30-year horizon and one without on 20, and the number on the page follows. The whole maker-by-maker table is on warranties and repairability.
If the budget is tight
Buy the Big Horn or the Jorgensen and spend the difference on a stone. A jack is the plane that makes you learn to sharpen, because it dulls fastest, and a well-sharpened cheap jack beats a dull expensive one every time. How to sharpen a plane iron is where to start, and the replacement irons roundup is the upgrade path once the casting has earned it.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is the best jack plane?+
On what the makers publish, the Taytools #5 Bedrock-style jack: a Bedrock frog, a lapped ductile body and a cryogenically treated O1 iron with a stated thickness and hardness, at about half the price of the other Bedrock-frog planes. If you want a bevel-up jack, the Stanley No. 62 is our best hand plane overall. The Lie-Nielsen No. 5 is better than both and is not sold on Amazon.
Is a No. 5 the best first hand plane?+
For most people, yes. It is long enough to flatten and short enough to smooth, so one plane covers both jobs while you find out what else you need. No. 4 vs No. 5 makes the case for each, and the beginner roundup ranks the No. 4s if you go that way.
Which jack plane is best for rough lumber?+
Any No. 5 on this page with a cambered iron and an open mouth. For heavy stock removal the WoodRiver 5-1/2 has the mass to stay in the cut; for a lighter plane you can push all day, the Taytools or Jorgensen No. 5. If the boards are sawn rough with twist, a scrub plane does it faster than any jack.
Low angle jack or regular jack plane?+
A regular bevel-down No. 5 if you own or plan to own other Bailey-pattern planes, since they share one sharpening routine. A bevel-up No. 62 if it will be your only plane and you are willing to buy spare irons, because one body at three bevel angles covers end grain, general work and figured wood. Do not mix the two systems without a reason.
Does Stanley still make the Bailey No. 5?+
The current 12-005 exists, but its Amazon listing was marked currently unavailable with no price when we checked, so it is not featured here. A vintage Stanley No. 5 restored is the traditional answer and often the cheaper one; the restore hub covers how to buy and fettle one.
Which jack plane has the best warranty?+
The Jorgensen No. 5: Pony Jorgensen publishes a limited lifetime warranty against material and workmanship defects with no receipt and no time limit. Stanley's lifetime warranty on the No. 62 excludes the iron. Lie-Nielsen's product page states that materials and workmanship are guaranteed for the life of the tool. The rest of the planes here publish no warranty.
We have not handled these tools. Nobody here has tested one, owned one, or taken one apart. Specifications come from the manufacturer or the retailer listing; warranty terms come from the maker's own warranty page; the cost-per-decade arithmetic is ours and reproducible. Where we could not verify a figure we say so on the page rather than quietly leaving it out. Read the full method.
