A Rare Hand Plane

[Dennis Mills]

Hi Folks,

Chris Frazeur and I were at a tool repair shop and I spotted this hand plane. It is a Stanley No. 2 smoothing plane from the sweetheart era. It is in great shape with 90+ percent of its japanning, and although these don't always follow the type studies you can find online (based on the No. 4 smoother), looking at several sources, it seems to be all original.

I saw one almost in identical shape on Etsy listed for a little over $600.

The number 2 is roughly 7" long. I have smaller hands and I have to have two fingers outside of the handle to use it. The iron is only 1 5/8" wide. It functions very well, although it will probably spend more time on the shelf.

I had taken the plane to the counter and asked the price of it, noticing there was no sticker on it. The cashier said, "I guess $200 is asking too much." I said it was too much for this person and he said, "How about $20?". I said I could give him $20.

I knew they weren't very common, but I had no idea they were this valuable.

Dennis