Plane Irons

[morrisminordriver]

I got some Bailey type plane irons off of ebay recently, two of them are 2 1/4" wide and 3 mm thick, one is stanmped J Jowett - Royal Albion Sheffield and the other is 2 1/8" , 3mm thick and stamped D. Kimberley.

I intend to use them as spares in my Stanley Planes, I was curious if anyone come across these names before?.

 

[Alf]

Mike,

John Jowett I only have listings for as a plane iron maker, so information is sparse. Address given as Albion Works, Arundel Lane, Sheffield. Dates 1860-1900.

D Kimberley is probably David Kimberley (with and without his sons) of Birmingham. The operated from 1854 until 1908, when they were taken over by Wynn & Timmins & Co. They appear to have had something of a leaning towards patenting stuff, including jack and trying planes with built in oilstones! No known metal planes by them, but no reason to suppose they mightn't have made, or had made, blades for them I suppose. Are you sure they're intended for Bailey-type planes? If the hole's at the top then they're for woodies or infills, particularly the latter if they're not tapered. No reason you couldn't use 'em mind you, as long as the mouth's wide enough and so forth. If not, I see an opportunity for plane-making in your future. :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[morrisminordriver]

Hi Alf , thanks for that - its good to have some backgound info such as this.
I hope to be able to utilize the blades in my No 7 and No 5 1/2.
Firstly they'll need to be sharpened on my Father in Law's new Tormek.
I'll let you know how I get on.
MMD

 

[Steve]

I use a Tormek for my plane irons, which end up square of course. I've often wondered about the slight curve - it certainly makes sense to me. Has anyone got a nifty technique I could use to facilitate achieving this using a Tormek? Would it be a question of 'Tormekking' and then finishing with a few strokes on the stone?
Any suggestions would be most welcome!

Steve