I'm not certain this is a right hand/left hand thing. Some circular saws have most of the plate to the right of the blade, others put most of the plate to the left of the blade. I remember a number of times wishing the saw I was using had the plate to the opposite side. There are times, too, when it would have been convenient to start a cut at one end, but finish the cut from the other. Looking at that saw I found myself thinking, "I could have used that feature a number of time!"