My hand plane iron went dull mid-cut on a walnut slab, so I flipped it around and finished the job anyway

Caleb Rivera · 2026-10-10T10:55:03.857444+00:00

I was working on a walnut coffee table in my garage in Boise when my smoothing plane started skipping about 20 minutes into flattening the top. Most woodworkers will tell you to stop right there, sharpen the iron on a stone, and reset everything. I grabbed my second iron that I keep honed at 30 degrees, popped it in, and kept going because I only had 40 minutes before I had to pick up my kid. The surface came out glassy on the first pass anyway, and I checked it with a straight edge and a feeler gauge, 2 thousandths of an inch gap at worst. I get why people say never switch irons mid board, but honestly the bigger issue was my chip breaker screw backing out, not the sharpness. Does anyone else keep a spare iron loaded just so you don't lose your rhythm on a big glue up?

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My hand plane iron went dull mid-cut on a walnut slab, so I flipped it around and finished the job anyway | Ask a Weird Expert - Pinecone Attack