A while back I posted a pic of large slab of wood I was planing and mentioned that I didn’t have a scrub plane. Today I visited my brother in spirit who also happens to be a serious tool collector amongst many other things. I hardly had a chance to light my pipe before he asked me to close my eyes and hold out my hands.
“A gift for you”. In my hands was a wooden scrub plane! Now I had seen the metal Stanley scrub planes but a wooden plane to me is rather special. To make it even more special, this one is a one off, made by some craftsman who knows when. Call me romantic but there is only one like it in the whole wide world! What can a plane like this tell if it could speak?

I spent some time with the plane tonight. Upon truing the sole I discovered that the plane body is made out of a solid block of Kiaat. I wanted to retain the patina that only old wood can have, so I just scraped the sides a little to take of some paint drops and grime.
I gave the wooden parts some time with steel wool before giving it a coat of Danish oil. The letters DJO is stamped onto the body, no doubt the craftsman’s initials. I wonder what it stands for?
I’m no expert but the blade looks forged to me, nice and thick as well. It needed some work so I flattened the back first. This was done by laying wet-or-dry sandpaper on a thick piece of glass, then working the blade back and forth, using some paraffin as lubricant. By progressively using finer grits, one can obtain a mirror finish. I only got as far as 220 before curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to use the plane!
There was a small nick in the blade so I had to grind that curved bevel some. Not as straight forward as a straight blade but I got a very nice edge by swinging the blade through an arc as I grind. Then to the stone and the strop.

The last thing I did before switching off the shop lights was the test drive, the reason for all the work above - to see those shavings curl, to hear the sound of wood being planed with a sharp plane. I will sleep well tonight.

Thank you brother!