2 in. Iron Bench Plane Blade Replacement

I received a very old and rusty Stanley Bailey #5 plane from my neighbor. After extensive cleaning and flattening, it was time to put a new iron on it. This blade/iron came with a 25 degree bevel that needed to be honed and and was in no way ready to use, but that is expected. After about 30 minutes honing on 200/400/800 sandpaper, I installed it and tested it on some hard maple.

I sharpened this blade with a micro bevel at 35 degrees or so and was able to take thin chips. There are some problems with this plane blade however: 1. Since the plane is bevel down, a 25 degree bevel is too steep and DECREASES rigidity while not adding to the "sharpness" angle (see images attached) 2. There isn't any information on the type of steel this is. It did sharpen easily which is not my primary concern as I rough in with diamond hones before transitioning to Japanese water stones. It is chinese steel which pains me to put into my 1940s planes classic American planes. I'd pay double the price to know it was quality tool steel. 3. The edges of these blades are very rough. They were clearly stamped out of a piece of sheet metal and not smoothed out in any way before hardening. The grinding on the flats are also not great but that isn't as much of a concern as you should be putting micro bevels on this that are polished to a shine. Veritas makes great plane blades but is out of stock for a very long time.

The 2" replacement irons (3) sharpened quickly and fit both my vintage (read Ebay) Union, Millers Falls and Stanley Smoother & Jack planes. Now in weekend use with no complaints.

it was good ..it took about 15 mins to flatten the back and re hone to razer sharp !

I was really pleased with the plane blade. It was perfect replacement and worked well.

blade was not flat...........................!

It's a decent replacement blade for my antique Stanley plane. After honing and stropping, the plane works fine.

This a replacement iron for old Stanley #4 and #5 handplanes. While there are better irons available, this one is affordable and gets the job done.

Fits the plane and ground to the correct angle