The shoulder plane is flat on both sides and the blade extends to the edge of the body. It is small and can be used with one hand. This plane is used for planing shoulders on joints accurately. The front can be removed and other types of front attached. This can make the plane longer or shorter. The shorter version is called the bull nosed plane. Because the blade extends the whole width of the plane it can be used for planing into corners.

There are many other types of plane used for special purposes. The plough plane shown on the left is for cutting grooves in wood. The blade can be changed so grooves of different widths can be cut.
Other types of plane include: the router which is used for flattening off grooves which have been roughly chiselled, the rebate plane which cuts a small portion of the edge of wood thinner and the spokeshave which can be used for planing curves (originally used for planing spokes on old type cart wheels.