joel moskowitz
While I have several Beech infill norris's in my collection I have never seen a post war (beech) A5 that could plane a candle next to a pre-war Norris. I do have a 17 1/2" post war panel with a custom iron that is wonderful but I would guess that I like it because it is lighter than the rosewood version (which I never use) and a better performer than a similar length bedrock.

But again - this is my point - Everything works - And if you are planing stuff in 1800 you got a nice wooden smoother and when it wore out you replaced it.

It is possible to take just about any plane and make it perform better. That's why premium makers get to charge a premium. The amazing thing is that a bog standard Stanley from 1930 will perform very very well indeed. Sure 90 years later they might be wear and tear but unless the plane has been abused, or cleaned up too much it will work excellently. Is it possible to get better performance than a new 1930 stock stanley - sure - a stock bedrock from the period will work marginally better, and you will get much better performance especially with a dulling blade on with a #5,6, or 17 Norris or early 19th century wooden plane. But for most people it's just not that important. But the main difference in performance was fit and finish - which accounted for the price difference. And the second most important indicator in performance is becoming one with the plane. It takes time to learn how to you any tool to best advantage. The performance of my tools has actually gotten better over the years, not because they have magically increased or decreased in weight but because of practice.