How bad is patina on plane bodies really

[dan sherman]

I have tried pretty much every rust preventive option available, and come to the conclusion that i must be the most corrosive person on the planet. It's the worst on my block planes, after 30-45 minutes of use, you can start to see little brown spots appearing on the side of the body where my fingers gripped the plane.

keeping all my planes nice and shinny is getting to be real downer, hence my question how bad is patina really? As long as the sole is flat, the blade is sharp, and rust isn't flaking off, does it really matter if the plane is brown or shiny like the day it rolled of the assembly line?

[Homer Faucett]

Unless you're trying to impress others with how shiny your plane is, or trying to sell the plane (which, I guess, involves trying to impress others with how shiny the plane is), I don't see it as being a problem at all. Flat is flat, and if you use it enough, any accumulating rust gets rubbed off.

You can always blue the plane and hit it with Boeshield to ward off rust, if it's that big of an issue.

[David Weaver]

If you're not using this plane on a shoot board, just spray the sides or wipe the sides with a light coat of shellac. You can always rinse it off with DNA later if you want. That'll be the end of the patina, rust, etc. Use blond if you're the kind of person who looks in the mirror a lot and may worry about what your friends will say when they see your plane has been given a dose of shellac.

If you get an old plane in the future, and it has patina, I'd leave it on unless there's something else about it that requires you to lap it off (pitted rusting, etc). The patina makes the casting low maintenance. Well established patina is nicer than shiny sides.

[James Taglienti]

i just had a similar conversation with a 72 year old gentleman. he used hand tools for most of his life and also taught industrial arts for over 30 years. he told me that the only time the mild oxidation is a big deal is when working with woods that react to iron, such as white oak. touching "rust dust" with a sweaty hand and then touching the workpiece can leave purplish fingerprints on it. he went as far as to mock my religious "steel wooling" of every dark spot that showed up.

i think that cleaning a plane makes it look nice, but it also invites the oxidation process to happen all over again. If you've got a plane with a dark grey or even black coating on it, you might want to leave it as is. that coating is protective.

i'm not sure i can stop cleaning my planes, but i will try to slow down at least. baby steps...

[Frank Drew]

I've never been particularly good about oiling or waxing or otherwise protecting my tools; through a combination of luck and an air conditioned/heated shop I didn't have much of a problem until I was out of the shop for an extended period, but I absolutely hate handling a rusty tool so I got rid of it it when and if it appeared. That's not to say that I'm interested in keeping my tools looking all shiny and brand new, though, just not gritty and dusty with rust.

[dan sherman]

I don't really have an aversion to patina, but when I first got into hand planes, I noticed everyone seems to have shiny clean planes, so i assumed that's how they needed to be.

The shellac is an interesting idea, I will have to consider it, as I have come to like the shinny look. :D

[Andrew Gibson]

I only have vintage planes at the moment... with several LV and LN planes on the short list :p
All of my planes have patina on the sides, though the bodies have been repainted on the insides to prevent rust when the majority of Japanning has been lost.
I personally like the brownish patina on my planes and would not remove it. The soles are flat and blades are sharp and they do their job very well.