Hock Plane Iron Assembly

This Hock Tools High Carbon steel plane iron was developed in collaboration with the faculty and staff at James Krenov’s Fine-Woodworking studio in Fort Bragg, California. The Hock blade sharpens very easily to a super fine edge and cuts through any grain with ease. We actually prefer this steel over the harder A2 steel since it sharpens much quicker and holds a consistently sharp edge. At 3/32″ thick, the blade won’t deflect or chatter under the toughest use. Designed specifically for the finely-tuned handmade wooden plane, these irons are unbeatable. The bevel is set at 30 deg.

A note on steel selection and quality:

For their “high carbon” steel blades, Hock Tools uses AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute) O1, a simple high carbon tool steel with very little added to the iron/steel alloy other than 1.1% manganese. That pinch of Mn allows the steel to harden with an oil quench (the “O” in O1 stands for Oil.) Oil removes heat more slowly than water, reducing the thermal shock that occurs when orange-hot steel is plunged into water. Reducing that thermal shock minimizes the risk of cracking or distortion in the hardened piece. With an alloy as simple as O1, containing so few alloying elements, the hardened grain structure is as fine as possible which allows honing to the sharpest possible edge.

Hock Tools Replacement Smoothing Plane Iron Assembly – 1-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ x 3/16″ Thick (101-653)

Hock Tools Replacement Block Plane Iron – 1″ x 2″ x 3/32″ Thick (101-660)

Features include:

Made from premium High Carbon steel for extra durability and a keenly sharp edge

Includes the blade (both) chip breaker and set screw (smoothing plane only)

Made in USA