My best answer on this is a question.
Was a flat back needed on a single iron plane?
If a cap iron (a.k.a. chip breaker) was involved, did anything other than a flat back prevent the shavings constantly clogging between the cap iron and the blade?
My thought is maybe they did whatever was required to get their work done in a timely manner.
jtk
Last edited by Jim Koepke; 02-14-2016 at 2:54 PM.
Reason: wording
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)