It does the job, but I don't think it keeps the edge for very long. I find it goes dull quite quickly. I also find adjusting the blade to be difficult, especially for someone new ( like myself).

I did not have great expectations when I purchased this Stanley 12-404 No. 4 Bench Plan. Stanley fell very short of my low expectations. No wonder it was discounted 38%. The black paint was splattered on it like ceiling 'popcorn'. The finishing department gave the sole a mere wink and put a plastic tote on the back with injection molding flange still on it. The blade looks suspect after honing...a little base metal in it? The twin-screw mechanism to adjust blade depth is an abomination. Why didn't Stanley stay with it's proven design? I'll be shopping for previously owned hand planes made when manufacturers still had pride in their products. With some effort it might make a poor excuse for a scrub plane.

This plane is difficult to use and maintain. If you're already an expert in hand planes, you can probably get great performance out of it, but if you're not you'll be frustrated and get poor results. It's well worth it to buy a more expensive tool which is easier to use.

Ground planning surace is very coarsely ground, and can "scrape" the wood as you use it. Took a lot of sanding to make the surface acceptable to me.

As others have said it's not perfect and can be made better depending on how much time and effort you have to put in. It is a vastly better than not have a hand plane at all.