Picked up a Stanley 32 and a Sargent VBM 3407( their smallest) to add to my working set of planes. The “32” although dirty, isn’t in bad shape for its age. The iron(2-5/8”) had some pitting near the edge. From past experience these pit become problematic down the line, so I used a Hock 01 iron. A couple runs over 80 grit paper and the sole was cleaned up. Ran it against some Spanish cedar with very interwoven grain. The 3407 has a nice heft for a small smoother, the irons Sargents are thicker than the Stanley. I need to spend a little more time on the iron and dub the corners of it.
Used quite a few of this type in the boatyard, as they worked well on green woods and didn’t rust. Also the soles could be modified for various operations like hollowing out and fairing.
In addition the reduced weight saved the shoulders when planing in awkward positions
Ed
Added later 58 d 21 h 42 min 44 s:
Finally around to cleaning up the Stanley 32. Used crud cutter to remove built up grime and restrained to match the end color of the plane. The hock iron works very well and its extra thickness reduces the mouth opening some. I’ll dumb the iron’s corner so it won’t leave tracks when smoothing.