Knick in plane mouth

[Charles Bjorgen]

I'm thinking of purchasing a smoother that has this defect in its mouth (see photo). Any thoughts on if this nick in the frog side of the mouth would affect its ability to perform as a decent smoother? (Sorry about the misspelling of “nick” in the topic title. Must have been thinking about the NY Knicks).

[Joe Bailey]

that is of absolutely no consequence.

[Bill Houghton]

Most of the time, your plane iron will be resting on the frog, not the sole; so not an issue, except: if you find you're leaving a track as you plane, there may be a sharp edge on that (k)nick, in which case a few minutes with a needle file rounding off any edges should solve the problem. You don't own needle files yet? Wrap some fine grit sandpaper around a suitably small diameter machine screw long enough to grip easily.

[Jim Koepke]

I'm thinking of purchasing a smoother that has this defect in its mouth (see photo).

To me it would depend on the price and how much filing to the mouth it would take to remove the nick.

Guessing this is a #4, $10 or so, maybe. $25 or more, leave it for the next guy. If it were a #3 then maybe a bit higher on the prices, it's your money.

jtk

[Charles Bjorgen]

I took a chance and bought the plane. It’s a type 11, no. 4 that was on eBay, but not for a Jim Koepke price. Bill, I thought the same as you that the cutter would rest on the frog. I have some small paddle type diamond hones that should help correct any jagged edges.

I’ll update when the plane arrives. It will join my Stanley 6, 5 and 3, all type 11. The type 11’s are going at some pretty fancy prices these day.

[Charles Guest]

I'm thinking of purchasing a smoother that has this defect in its mouth (see photo). Any thoughts on if this nick in the frog side of the mouth would affect its ability to perform as a decent smoother? (Sorry about the misspelling of “nick” in the topic title. Must have been thinking about the NY Knicks).

Won't matter, but there are so many of these around without nicks there's no overriding reason to buy one with a nick.

[Mark Maleski]

I took a chance and bought the plane. It’s a type 11, no. 4 that was on eBay, but not for a Jim Koepke price. Bill, I thought the same as you that the cutter would rest on the frog. I have some small paddle type diamond hones that should help correct any jagged edges.

I’ll update when the plane arrives. It will join my Stanley 6, 5 and 3, all type 11. The type 11’s are going at some pretty fancy prices these day.

If this is a bevel down plane ( you mention a frog) then the nick will not be in an area that supports the blade (because of the bevel).

[Charles Bjorgen]

I forgot to follow up on this acquisition. The nick is not a problem and after creating a new bevel on the blade that was seriously out of square, it works fine just as has been suggested. Glad I have it.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks for getting back on this. It is always good to know how something worked out.

jtk