Brandon got a peek at a shipwright's chest... 

> how many of you guys actually use your 2s?  

 I don't remember the name of the author (a few books
on traditional boatbuilding), he also has a chapter on making 
shipwright's plane. I could get the reference, the book is at
home. He said that shipwright's plane where narrower than
the regular bench planes. A smoother might have 1 3/4" blade
and a jointer 2 1/4 at the most. The planes were not as thick
and were "razee" to save on weight since the better ones where
made of exotic heavy woods. Work had to be done in awkward
positions: overhead, etc.
Maybe the #2 blades had been used in a woody, not in the 
original cast iron body.

Makes sense?
Louis Michaud