I have bought several Hock plane blades over the years and have always been happy with them. This one is no exception. This is for my #6. I like to have several and just swap them out as they need sharpening. It’s an ordeal to pull out and set up for sharpening so I want to sharpen a lot of blades. One day I hope to have a spot dedicated to sharpening so I do that more frequently. But I’m happy with Hock blades.

I have been transitioning my restored Stanley planes from thier original SW irons that are getting harder to replace as the planes are appraching 100 years old (a few non-SW planes over 100 years). I purchased the Hock 2 3/8" O1 plane iron from Woodcraft. Extremely sharp right out of the pacakge. However the cutting edge was ground slightly concave, which made planing impossible. It took a bit of work to square it away, but the end result is well worth the effort. I'll purchase more Hock irons. Once fettled this one shaves as fine and smooth as I could hope for.

I was expecting a lot more from this blade than I got. It was absolutely the worst blade I’ve ever had to flatten. It had a nice crown on the face, by face I mean the side facing the lever cap, the face I need to be flat and polished. If the blade had been oriented so the convex side was facing up it would’ve been a breeze. It’s made in France, maybe they don’t realize which way the crown should go and if that’s the case, Mr. Hock should have told them. The grind on the bevel was horrible and it took me 2 days to flatten the blade and straighten the bevel. Won’t ever buy another Hock blade.

I bought the 01 high carbon steel blades for a 41/4 smoother. I have two - one back beveled 15 degrees to provide a 60 degree cutting angle and one at 30 degree secondary bevel for standard 45 degree cutting angle. I'm not a big fan of A2, not because its hard to sharpen (it isn't) but I never liked the way it chips and breaks down. I wanted a smooth no- sanding surface and the Hock 01 high carbon steel delivered. They came very flat and were no trouble to set up.