I just picked up a no 35 plane. It's not a Stanley; it's stamped Marshall Wells No Z 35. I'm not really a collector but I thought it was cool looking and didn't cost much. But I'm curious as to the purpose of the design. Given the popularity of the all cast iron planes widely available at the time I assume this to have been made, why have a hybrid wood-cast iron plane? Was there something for which this plane was designed that distinguished it from the more common all iron planes like the no 4 etc? While I'm not particularly knowledgeable about planes, I know a lot of them had specific uses or features designed for a specific purpose but I don't know enough to know what that might be in this case? Or was it something to do with manufacturing (easier or cheaper to make, etc)?
Here's a link to a page about the Stanley version for reference. https://www.handplane.com/131/stanle...-smooth-plane/