That's the tallow they used for lubrication. English planes I've seen and owned
always - always  -are darker than their American counterparts. I suspect it
actually reacts with the beech to darken the wood, but I may be mistaken. If you
look closely you'll see the lighter areas where the worker's hands rubbed it
clean. It tells you how to hold it.

Leave it.

-T


> Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2014 16:46:21 +1000
> From: dynnyrne@i...
> To: OldTools@r...
> CC: 
> Subject: [OldTools] Cleaning blackened moulding planes?
> 
> Friends,
> 
> I seek advice, guidance, experience or failing that, opinions, before I 
> do something I may come to regret.
> 
> I have some European (English) beech moulding planes, boxwood slipped, 
> which have been oiled within an inch of their life and then apparently 
> stored in the back of a chimney.  Dark doesn't begin to describe them.  
> I doubt that they will ever be returned to the warm honey brown of 
> patinated beech, but I'd like to lighten the colour if that can be done 
> short of using paint stripper.  I looked at Tony Seo's Galoot Formula #1 
> page, but reading the cautions I doubt that adding more linseed oil and 
> wax to the existing coat will improve the situation.
> 
> Any suggestions as to how to go about doing this would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> 
> Tony B
> Hobart, Tasmania
> 

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