If you want to start woodworking with hand tools, you will want to invest in a good block plane.
They are small, meant to be used with one hand. The blade is set at a low angle. They are very versatile. One common use is for cleaning up ends of wood after it has been sawn to size, for example at the angled ends of a picture frame:
When buying a hand plane, you will get what you pay for. I suggest you go for top of the line. Take a look at the difference between these two:
You can see why one costs ten times more. One uses quality materials, thougthful design and refined finish while the other, . . . does not. You will notice that one has a small thumb groove machined into the side for better grip. The sides of the plane have been machined to be exactly square with the sole (the bottom face) so that you can turn it on its side on a flat surface, butt a board up to the sole and plane the edge of the board square. You cannot do that with the cheap one.
The thumb screw at the back of the nice one allows for very fine adjustment of the blade. The cheap one completly lacks this feature.
The gap where the blade goes through, called the mouth, can be adjusted to control the thickness of the shaving and help prevent tearout.
The blade of the one is nearly twice as thick, and does not need to be hidden under powdercoat.
(I rounded off the end of the cheap one and use it for a scrub plane, when I need to rough a board to size.)
Planing the endgrain of hardwood is tough, if you have ever tried, you know what I mean. The plane needs to be sharp, tuned, rigid and controllable to get clean shavings. Here is some walnut.
I bought the cheap one first, got frustrated with it, then got the nice one, so I know first hand when I say buy the nice one. Buy it Once, Buy it for Life.
This has been Hand Tool Tuesday, bringing you a different hand tool every Tuesday since, um, Tuesday. But I will be back next Tuesday with another one so stay tuned, and if you have a favorite hand tool, share it with us over at #handtooltuesday and the Steemit #woodworking community.