Neat throat-clearing tool
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>That's plane-throat-clearing tool, not something for people who say "ahhemmm" a lot.
I find that my No. 78 and No. 45 choke up on shavings somewhat. Interestingly, they tend to do so more on the initial run - the short shavings generated from establishing the cut seem to clog the throat more than the longer shavings generated from the long strokes in an established cut.
I've found a bamboo skewer very useful for clearing the shavings, particularly for the No. 78. The pointed end reaches into the throat well, and it's very strong (the bamboo fibers are very straight to reduce splitting, too) - but, being wooden (or at least celluosic), it won't harm the edge.
If you sneak really quietly into the kitchen, you might even be able to get one for free, but if your household kitchen god/goddess doesn't use these, they're right cheap at the grocery store.