Stanley 271 - blade slightly skewed?

[Allan Speers]

The only thing that matters in a router plane, is that the cutting edge is parallel with the base. What the router does is create a plane parallel to another, the base references one plane, the cutter creates the second.
Hence, the orientation of the cutting edge relative to anything other than the base plane is immaterial.

So then you suggest that I re-grind the edge, correct?

How I would do this, I have no idea ....

[mike holden]

Allan,
Sharpening router plane blades is something that is a can of worms. Everyone seems to have their own (difficult, awkward, etc.) way of doing it.
The best known method is by Derek Cohen found at inthewoodshop.com
I think his method of sharpening the upper surface of the blade is the simplest, neatest way I have ever seen.
Sharpening the lower surface I do by the method my instructor, Joe Trippi, taught me.
That is using a flat surface, granite, glass, etc. with sandpaper.
Leave an area uncovered with abrasive. This area is where the back of your router will rest. The blade should be lowered so the edge strikes the abrasive, but not so much that the entire bottom strikes the abrasive. You will be creating a second bevel, see the pics.
The geometry is such that this will create an edge that lies in a plane parallel to the base plane. It will cancel out any variation in the angle of the blade post not being exactly 90 degrees (or normal ) to the base plane.
The pics show a Stanley 71, and from them you can see that the plane must have been dropped at some point in its life as the bladepost is no longer 90 degrees to the base, it is also possible that the base has been polished out of 90. Does not matter as this sharpening method cancels it all out.
router 02.jpgrouter 04.jpgrouter 05.jpgrouter 06.jpg
This method will work with your 271 as well as with any router that has a straight back edge to rotate the body. My instructor claimed that that is what those "ears" were designed to do.
Mike