Antique Stanley Planes|Hand Planes

One of the first "uncommon" items I found when I started looking for things to sell on eBay years ago, was antique Stanley planes.  I learned about them because I had gone to an estate sale that featured many vintage and antique woodworking tools.


I had a hunch that these vintage tools would be worth something because there had been a lot of interest in my Dad's tools after he passed away years earlier.  I knew that my Dad had liked Stanley tools, so I bought up pretty much everything I could find that was stamped "Stanley".

It turns out that woodworkers are a pretty wise lot.  Rather than spend their money on junk, they would rather invest in old Stanley planes that they know are the highest quality.  I knew that the planes I had purchased were pretty old and I was amazed at how well kept they were.  I took them apart just to make sure that there were not any old wood shavings or dirt stuck inside the works and was struck by the fact that besides a bit of worn paint on the wooden parts, the planes were in excellent condition.  I think that was a combination of quality tools and a woodworker who did a great job of caring for his tools.

The Stanley planes that I had purchased were not among the most collectible ones that are sold.  They all did fairly well, but I noticed that there are many specific models that seem to be quite coveted among tool collectors.  If you are not a collector, you might not realize just HOW coveted these planes can be.  To give you an idea, here are some recent prices paid for some of the hardest to find Stanley planes:

Stanley No. 23 wood plane: $1,625
Stanley No. 1 plane:  $847
Stanley No. 212 Scraper plane:  $755

As you can see, people are willing to pay for the high quality tools they are looking for when they are able to find them.  Antique Stanley planes and Stanley planes in general are a great find if you like to hit estate sales, and a great investment if you are in the market for high quality tools.  They certainly seem to hold their value well.

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Category: Home and Garden, old collectibles