Weird Line Stanley Blade

[Chestnut]

So i got a hold of a cheap #4 ($20) plan and was cleaning it up. Got to the blade and someone took it to a grinder in a past life there was no way i was getting the area near the edge remotely flat. I went and grabbed the old blade from my #5 sharpened it up and found the pictures below. I sharpened it to near what ever angle it came with. I took it from my extra coarse diamond stone to 1000 grit to 6000 grit to my strop.

This is a zoomed out image that shows a very distinct line about 1/32" thick on the iron then after it it almost looked rough still. I wondered what it was so naturally i took out my macro lens.

It wasn't until i zoomed in to 1:1 on my computer that i really got confused. This is about as close as i can get with the equipment i have.

Has any one seen this with Stanley blades?

[Unknown craftsman]

Maybe it's a laminated blade.Something I have seen in Japaneese steel.

Also looks like you have more work to do on the edge it's kinda toothy.

Thats all I got.

Aj

[Chestnut]

15 minutes ago, Aj3 said:

Maybe it's a laminated blade.Something I have seen in Japaneese steel.

Also looks like you have more work to do on the edge it's kinda toothy.

Thats all I got.

Aj

It sure didn't cut like i had work left to do. I think there was still some burr left i hadn't removed it at that point. The blade is stamped Stanley SW It's from my jack plane that dated to either 1919 or the early 20s.

[Unknown craftsman]

@Chestnut I was just giving you a hard time Im sure it's very sharp.

I have one old Stanley plane.But someday I'd like to get  one with the grooves in the sole.

Seems like a good thing.

Aj

[TerryMcK]

No can't say I have but if it cuts ok I wouldn't worry one bit about it.

[Eric.]

Just looks to me like you didn't spend enough time polishing.  1K to 6K is getting into the "big jump" ballpark...I would equate that to going from 80 grit sandpaper to 150 instead of 120.  1K to 4K to 8K would be ideal (of course depending on what kind of stones you use).  It appears that you didn't get all of the scratches out from coarser grits.  I go 1K to 5K to 8K with Shapton Pros.  They cut fast so the jump between the first two isn't that big of a deal.  Lesser stones will take longer and you'll need to practice more patience.

Also, you obviously need to get rid of the burr.  Not sure why you left that on since it takes about a nanosecond to remove it.

[Chestnut]

Not really worried about it just thought it was interesting. I shared to see if this was something that is common or rare.

The "rough" area is not rough at all and the lines in that area run perpendicular to the direction i was sharpening. It almost looks like Damascus steel.

8 hours ago, Aj3 said:

@Chestnut I was just giving you a hard time Im sure it's very sharp.

I have one old Stanley plane.But someday I'd like to get  one with the grooves in the sole.

Seems like a good thing.

Aj

The #4 i just got has the corrugated sole It flattened nice but i don't see any real benefit to it. How many times am i going to have to flatten the sole?

[Eric.]

Just now, Chestnut said:

The "rough" area is not rough at all and the lines in that area run perpendicular to the direction i was sharpening. It almost looks like Damascus steel.

LOL  It's not.

The perpendicular lines are probably remnants from being ground at the factory.  Try again...I bet you can get it to polish to a perfect edge if you just spend a little more time on it.  I don't think it's the steel, I think it's you rushing the process.

[Unknown craftsman]

1 hour ago, Chestnut said:

Not really worried about it just thought it was interesting. I shared to see if this was something that is common or rare.

The "rough" area is not rough at all and the lines in that area run perpendicular to the direction i was sharpening. It almost looks like Damascus steel.

The #4 i just got has the corrugated sole It flattened nice but i don't see any real benefit to it. How many times am i going to have to flatten the sole?

I'm thinking the corrugated sole has less friction when planing large surfaces like a table.Every little bit helps to get the job done.When it's a 1000 degrees in my uninsulated shop.

I'm probably wrong as always 

 

Aj

[Chestnut]

9 minutes ago, Aj3 said:

I'm thinking the corrugated sole has less friction when planing large surfaces like a table.Every little bit helps to get the job done.When it's a 1000 degrees in my uninsulated shop.

I'm probably wrong as always 

 

Aj

I was always thought that surface area is independent of friction especially for things like steel and wood. I know what it's like to always be wrong.

I'm forwarding this question to a couple of the hand tool guys on the internet to see what they think it is.

[Eric.]

That's correct, but it does more harm than good.  You can reduce friction with a hunk of wax.

From a Paul Sellers blog...

" The corrugated sole was produced in Bailey pattern planes for a period with the intention of reducing the surface area of the sole to further reduce the friction of the plane on the surface being planed. Indeed it does do that, but it also damages corners and edges of wood when you start to plane angles such as chamfers or form bullnoses to things such as box lids, window sills and stair treads.

... Anyway, corrugated soles grab shavings, especially super-thin ones that cling to the grooves of corrugated soles. Even flat soled planes do this. The problem inherent to corrugated soles is the grab and mush up in the grooves and on subsequent forward thrusts, damage the surface you are supposed to be smoothing. No craftsman I ever knew favoured these planes."

[Immortan D]

I have a brown Stanley 5C (corrugated). Made a scrub plane out of it. It wasn't a good smoother but I don't know if the corrugated sole had much to do with it.