B65-655 SMOOTHING PLANE. Hardt Patent. Louis Hardt of Yuba City, CA, patented this thing in 1893. It featured a nose piece that slides on an inclined plane to adjust the depth of cut. The patent shows a wooden plane, but the very few known examples are all cast iron. This is the 11-1/2" smoothing plane size, identical to the one shown in Figure 263 of PTAMPIA I. Like all known examples, has a marked Sargent cutter and frog. The knob has some chips around the base but the rosewood tote is immaculate, and the metal is very clean. A very nice example of one of the holy grails of patented plane collectors. Good+ 2500-5000