A Tsunesaburo plane blade arrived today from Stuart Tierney @ www.toolsfromjapan.com. I've wanted to experiment with a laminated eastern style blade on a western plane for some time now. I'll post results once I've had a chance to flatten the back, sharpen and put the iron to use.
Japanese packaging is always meticulous, it's something i appreciate.
The cutting edge steel is called hagane and it is forged to a softer piece of steel called the jigane.