Who here can boast owning the oldest plane?

[Zach England]

The 100-year-olf jointer thread on the power tool forum got me thinking. Who here has the oldest plane? What about oldest in use? I know there are a lot of late 19th century Stanley and Ohio Tool planes out there, but can anyone boast an 18th century plane? It does not exist unless it has a picture.

[george wilson]

I have owned them,but some collector would always see it and offer good money for it.

I have about 350 carving tools,and a few are 18th.C. Also have an 18th.C. mortising chisel.

[Zach England]

I always hear about plane collectors, and see the websites that sell rare planes for $2k+, but who are these guys? Are they woodworkers? If not, what compels them to collect planes?

[Jim Koepke]

What compels a person to collect coins, first edition books or sewing thimbles?

The same kind of interest drives people to collect planes.

There must be something to the high price of the book: Antique & Collectable Stanley Tools. The low price on Amazon is now at $290.

I have seen pictures of people's collections. Some like to make their home look like an old time hardware store.

I have also been in the home of a person that for all intent and purpose collects planes. He also sells them.

I recently sold a plane that may have been from the 18th century. I have a few old mortise chisels that may be from the 18th century. I have them because they were the ones that were on ebay at the time and I won them at a relatively low price.

Many of my user planes are from the late 19th century. As each year passes, my users that have not come to their centenarian mark becomes less and less. Of course, that does not include planes I acquire to fix up and resell. It also does not include the few planes bought new from Lie-Nielsen.

jim

[Sam Takeuchi]

Really sought after planes don't stop at $2,000. Some of them go $10,000, $20,000 and more. I don't think those people who pay that much are woodworkers, at least they don't get them to use those tools. Just like any serious collector of anything, they may acquire them as kind of investment. I think those highly sought after, high dollar planes are the only kind that really bring large return on investment in foreseeable future. Those of us who pay $30 ~ 400 for a vintage plane wouldn't make a tidy sum except for being extremely lucky and finding an ultra rare plane for $10 and sell it for $20,000 (there was a guy in another forum who did that). But investor/collector and woodworker/collector have different motivation for acquiring vintage and/or rare tools. If acquiring super rare tool to make money, it's better to be a finance wiz than a woodworker.

If you look at the collectors of anything, be it paintings, musical instruments, or anything, collectors themselves don't necessarily have to have knowledge or understand the items. As long as items are appraised and deemed authentic, there is money to be made.

I guess us ordinary woodworkers are somewhat akin to ordinary stamp or coin collectors. It's not about money, but joy of owning/using what we've got.

[george wilson]

I only buy collectible tools when the dealer doesn't know what he has,and sells it at an ordinary price.

[Brian Kent]

I once had a 2002 Buck Brothers Block Plane from Home Depot in its original box, but I accidentally threw it in the trash so no one would gouge their wood with it.

[Chen-Tin Tsai]

I once had a 2002 Buck Brothers Block Plane from Home Depot in its original box, but I accidentally threw it in the trash so no one would gouge their wood with it.

Hey, I think I have one of those!

[Tony Shea]

I once had a 2002 Buck Brothers Block Plane from Home Depot in its original box, but I accidentally threw it in the trash so no one would gouge their wood with it.

I just went over to a friends' house and he just recently had purchased one of those and showed it to me in excitement. He was excited about his first plane purchase and thought he'd show it to me. Boy what a beautiful peice of equipment those are. I talked him into putting it on display outside on an old saw horse with bullet holes in it. Went inside and grabbed his Beretta 9mm and shot the hell out of it. But this only was allowed in a promise that I'd go home and grab him one of my older Stanley 60 1/2 I just tuned up. He was shocked to see the difference in quality. I just can't see where they could possibly sell enough of this to keep them on the shelves. And if the do how can people enjoy using them. What a huge fall in quality that Buck Bro.s tools have seen in about a century. I recently found a couple older Buck Bro.s chisels that are just excellent and really enjoy using them. Sorry bout going off topic here.

[Larry Williams]

... an 18th century plane?...

How many are you looking for? How early in the 18th Century? American or British?

[David Gendron]

Is this a user, that you actualy use? I'm ure you have a few older one that are kiking around

[george wilson]

You win,Larry !!

[Larry Williams]

No, we don't use it and it's probably the oldest we have. It's hard to say exactly because some don't have maker's marks.

That one is from the early 18th Century and is a nice crisp Robert Wooding of which I'm particularly fond. It's from a time when the scholars who study these things suggest that Britain's early plane makers were copying Dutch planes. Yet this plane has sophisticated features that were never incorporated into any Continental planes. In short, it's proof that British planes developed independently of the Continental planes and represent a solid British woodworking heritage.

I think planes from that time represent the best that plane making has ever had to offer. It's too bad planes began their long decline about 1750 with the introduction of the double iron.

[harry strasil]

Some of my Woodies have only a single iron, do they qualify then?

[Leigh Betsch]

I'm convinced that you don't own planes but rather they own you. To that end my oldest is 52 years old.