For what you pay, this is a great tool. You may have to do some work when you get it, but that's the trade-off you get for paying less than half the price of the premium planes. My plane and iron (blade) were about flawless. I probably should try flattening the sole, but it looks perfect up against a good straight edge, so I didn't bother (at least yet). The frog surface was clean and flat. The blade was almost perfectly flat and fairly sharp, and I had it hair-popping sharp with very little time with my stones and strop. The chip breaker was a different story. It had some strange tip geometry like it was accidentally double sheared during manufacturing. I contacted Taylor Tools, and the president of the company emailed me back. He told me to grind the chip breaker as I saw fit and that if I wasn't happy, he'd take care of me. I was afraid to touch it figuring it might void any warranty. Well, I worked on it and got it right enough. I attached one photo showing the thin shavings I was taking right away once I did all this work and assembled the plane. I am no pro at this--I'm still very new with hand planes. This thing is a big, heavy beast (see attached photo comparing to my Stanley No.5 Jack plane); but it sure excels at getting wood FLAT. I made a full trash bag of shavings planing two faces of four poplar table legs flat and perpendicular. Then I ripped the other two sides on the table saw to dimension and finished with one or two more swipes with the plane once again for surface finish reasons (the plane leaves an amazing surface). Through all this, I did not perceive any blade dulling. I wouldn't say four poplar table legs represent a grueling test, but the blade steel is definitely not garbage. Highly recommended.