Collecting and not using Planes

[Richard Niemiec]

For me, it wasn't so much collecting as accumulating, over a 10 year period, multiples of planes that just had me trading up to the best of the lot, and this past year I thinned the herd, leaving me with one of each of stanley's bench planes, 'cept for a #2, which somehow I never came across. I then took the proceeds and bought some newer versions of very hard to find stanley planes, like LV's low angle jack and smoother combo, some chisels and a 98 and 99, stuff like that.

But I still can't help stopping when I see a garage sale, 80% of the time, its a waste of time, but every once in a while, like this past saturday, while all the ladies are oohing and ahhing over the dainty teacups and Hummels for sale in the dining room, I wander into the garage and what do I find hanging on a nail but a nice turn of the century Disston D8, and underneath it a 14 or 15 pt Disston split nut backsaw (circa 1870 or before) both in pretty nice shape. Now, I already have one of each, but just can't leave them there so home they come, got sprayed with some WD-40 and one of these evenings I'll clean them up a bit and if they are not better than the ones I have I'll sell them off.

The herd will get larger.......

[Billy Chambless]

All I was saying, is from some of the collectors I have read, the tools they normally find NIB, have some non cosmetic, but USE issue that caused them to stay NIB.

That's an interesting point. Similarly, some of the rare (and therefore collectible) items are rare because they flopped in the marketplace.

Personally, I collect mostly non-collectible tools, and use them.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I have like 2 maybe 3 old wood planes as decoration.
The others are used.

[Brian Hale]

I have one Mint-In-The-Box Miller Falls 14 (with the black frog)that i haven't used yet. It's not that it's all that valuable and i can't say why i don't put it to use but there it sits all pretty and shiny.

My other 40 or so are all users.

Brian

[Jay Jolliffe]

I have about 35 old wooden molding planes & a few others that I thought would be nice to own & not necessarily to use. That was my thinking a few years back. Now they sit in boxes not being used & thats a waste of a good tool. So I think I'll be selling them to some one that might use them & not put them in a box. When I do decide to sell them I'll post them here first then they go to the auction site.

[Brian Hale]

Ooooooohhh

I don't have any molding planes, yet....

Let me know Jay, i'm sure we could work something out

Brian

[Tom Henry]

Clint...OMG that is some collection! More pics would be great!

[Narayan Nayar]

Sure, I'll bite. I've got 15 planes, four of which I received three days ago, and four more coming in the next 2-3 weeks. Of these 19, all but four are Lie-Nielsen. My 2 shoulder planes and bullnose plane are Veritas, and I have a Bridge City mini multi plane. Obviously, I haven't used the ones I don't yet have, and the ones I just received were all honed and tested over the weekend.

Of the 15 in my bench drawers, I'd say 4 of them get the most use, the #8 jointer probably the one with the most working time. Only one of the planes has yet gone unused, the large scraper plane, but that's mostly because I haven't built anything with highly figured wood (on which I would use a scraper) since getting it.

Every once in a while you come across a thread that suggests that unused <insert tool here> are a waste of a good tool (this isn't one of those threads, thankfully, which is why I'm participating). Of all the unusable crap in this world that people collect (my mom collects ceramic ducks and xmas houses), I have to say that planes and handtools in general make for a fine collection. I buy planes with an intention of using them but don't pressure myself to use them out of fear that I'm depriving someone somewhere of a handplane experience.

If anything, the Lie-Nielsen tools have opened up my eyes to the small universe of small toolmaking shops in the U.S., and I see keeping these operations in business a much more important act than keeping, say, WMH or Wilton or Home Depot in business. I'd be apt to buy tools I don't need from them just to have them and just to know I've given money towards an enterprise which has a work and business ethic I totally believe in; nevermind that these planes are absolutely beautiful artifacts, at least to my eye.

[Thom Sturgill]

I've bought about a dozen planes now, couple of threes, fours and fives, a seven, a couple of spokeshaves, a #78 that I'm cleaning up (all users) and one old (1870s) woody that will probably never be used again.

The LOML is a history teacher and over the last 35 years has imbued me with a respect for history that creates a fuzzy line that says this tool deserves to rest. I have sharpened the blade and debated resoling or reparing the mouth or maybe just cambering the blade and using it, but I feel I need to do as little as possible to it.

[John-Paul Murphy]

I collect tools so I can use them

[Tom Wiarda]

I have a nice old plow plane with wooden screws and nuts that I display because it looks so nice. I also display a old few molding planes. All the others are users. I made a greenland style kayak paddle this weekend and had a chance to use a few of them. I used my no. 7, my 4 1/2, my grandfather's 603, and a LN low angle block plane. I also used a spokeshave and drawknife. The planes cut the cedar like a hot knife through butter.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Ooooooohhh

I don't have any molding planes, yet....

Let me know Jay, i'm sure we could work something out

Brian

Careful, Brian. Those things add up way faster then iron planes. They can even come in big sets. Horrible. Plus, they will embarrass your router (if you have one).