What I have just glued is a 1.5" pine
core,with .375" mahogany on either side for the blade,ending with 1" maple on the outside. Might be another one for the wall,but it will be purty.
The weight result will be interesting since most of the hardwood will be carved away.
Sharpness of blade…
– Last Updated: Aug-03-08 11:23 AM EST –
Yep... High-angle block plane will deal with funky grain much better than a low-angle plane. It'll be a little harder to push thru the wood but not too noticeably.
More important with funky grain, whichever plane you have, is having a sharp blade. Use a honing guide and google "Scary Sharp" unless you have a Japanese waterstone.
More info on sharpening blades can be found here as well as some truly great blades. http://www.hocktools.com/sharpen.htm
Sharpening can be a chore, especially the first time around as you have to flatten the back side of the blade, but is well worth the effort. A sharp blade will make a cool zipping sound sound going thru the wood while a dull blade crunches thru.
I use A2 steel blades and can easily get two paddles between sharpening while a normal steel blade will likely need to be sharpened again before the paddle is finished, especially when dealing with funky grain.
Cheers...
Bill