Mushroomed Plane Blades

[Tony Z]

You know I was referring to modern tradesmen, right?

I agree - Borg disposable mentality partially to blame, but I'll put forth an additional opinion. I'm 65, and more than 43 years ago, I began the 4 year carpenter's union apprenticeship program. I had 4 years of Saturday schooling, 26 weeks out of each year. We were given a list of tools we were required to have, and on that list was a Sranley 42X sawset an an oilstone. No time during our training were we trained to sharpen anything. In fact our instructor made fun of the "archaic" tool list.

If I was still in the trade, I'd be of the retiring age, and as one of the older guys, I didn't have knowledge to pass on, in that time frame.

I learned on my own to keep my chisels sharp. Carpentry had become all power tools. I left the trade in 1989, and have been a hobbyist ever since. In that time as a hobyist, I learned how to sharpen - saws, plane blades, chisels, scrapers and anything else.

[bandit571]

While a few taps on the end of the iron won't do much "harm"......over the course  of a few decades of such abuse...yeah, they are going to mushroom.....some of the ones I have fixed back up....were at least 90+ years old.    You take such whacking that long,  you might look the same. 

They have also been placed back in the planes...wrong.    Chipbreakers on the wrong side of the iron, overlapping the bevel....is one of the things I see the most, when I rehab a plane.

[Rick Barton]

I'm of the opinion that both are true. We know people adjust iron planes with brass hammers. LN sells a hammer for this task. Bob Smalser talks about the practice in one of his plane refurb blog posts.

I also know tradesmen back in the day used plane irons as chisels. When I joined the commercial trades back in the early 80's I observed  carpenters chiseling out hinge and lock plate mortises with them.

[Timberwolf]

You know I was referring to modern tradesmen, right?

..........
No....but if that's what you were referring to, I can agree....I'm not even sure modern tradesmen even know how to sharpen anything, or have the tools to do it.

[Tony Z]

..........
No....but if that's what you were referring to, I can agree....I'm not even sure modern tradesmen even know how to sharpen anything, or have the tools to do it.

True, but more because they have not been exposed to how to do it! Though I've been out of the trade nearly 30 years (boy does time fly!), I still remember starting out in the mid70's, a carpenter, who was foreman, completing a white oak ceiling feature of cased beams. The gaps at the corners were out of square and big enough to throw a large size tomcat through. Though the guy was in the trade for decades, he was never exposed to how to do finish work.

I was lucky enough to have a father that was a home builder (though a dedicated power tool guy) and also working with another journeyman (again a power tool guy), with both able to do fine finish work, albeit with power tools.

Before my dad died in 2004, I demonstrated how to handcut dovetails. He was not impressed, saying why go to that trouble when you have a router that can do it faster?