A soleplate for a clothes pressing iron, composed of: a metal sheet having a
lower
surface that will be directed toward fabrics to be ironed, a lower surface layer
that extends form the lower surface and an interior region that is separated from
the lower surface by the lower surface layer, the lower surface layer being mechanically
hammer-hardened, or work hardened, to have a hardness greater than the hardness
of the sheet prior to being mechanically hardened; and a coating that is hard and
resistant to scratching covering the lower surface.
