I think the widest bevel up plane Stanley made was the # 62 and #64, which were 2″ wide.
And they featured irons that were pinched in at the logo end.

Stanley bevel up planes

Interesting that Stanley advertised both planes as rugged cross grain tools, and not as smoothers as modern makers do.

Is yours a laminated iron? It just may have been stamped on the wrong side, in which case some collector will make you a millionaire if you market it right.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by Larry Geib.

I can’t see a sign of lamination on your last photo, but it would probably have to be etched ( vinegar would do it) for the two metals to show.
So you are probably right.

If that’s the lever cap that came with the plane, it’s not original to a transition plane. They were stippled and japanned black.

That lever cap with the 1867 patent date came with a type 1 or early type 2 Bailey.

(1867 to 1870-ish)

That iron should fit in a 4 1/2, 5 1/2, 6 , and 7 bailey and the equivalent bedrocks.

I may have “solved” the identification issue.
Stanley did make a block plane that was 2 3/8″ wide in the number 11 and number 11 1/2 flooring planes.
They used no cap iron, except a vestigial one that allowed the lever adjustments to work. And they were bevel up.
Number 11 1/2
The type 11 1/2 was made from 1909-1923, which would include the V logo period.
So I don’t think anybody made a sharpening mistake. They just repurposed an iron from a flooring plane.

I actually saw a big beefy flooring mechanic using one of these once, amid a sea of sweat and beer. The legal office we were in didn’t allow power tools on the floor, so he leveled the floor by hand.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by Larry Geib.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by Larry Geib.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by Larry Geib.

Come to this one a bit late as it’s over a year old…………… missed it the first time around.

One reason some users may have provided to bevel the ‘wrong’ side of a bevel-down plane iron is to increase its effective ‘bed-angle’ or pitch which may be fixed at a lower angle on the original tool. This will allow the user to deal with difficult grain, prone to tear-out.

For example, a standard No: 4 or 4-1/2 is bedded at about 45 degrees (Common Pitch). A 60 degree angle is known as Half-Pitch so that adding a small 15 degree back-bevel to a spare blade means that you can exchange the blade to deal with the odd problem-grain plank, minimising tear-out….

For example, some modern makers (naming no names, but you know whom) offer an alternative frog assembly for their smoothing planes to increase the pitch to about 55 degrees or Middle Pitch.

… an old trick used by lots of cabinet-makers. Cheaper than buying a new tool for occasional use.