Maker identification

[Alba2023]

Hi,
I’ve joined your forum to ask for help identifying tools, their makers and values, or to be pointed to relevant sites / articles.

Our late father primarily collected woodwork tools, but lots of other things from the 1950s and loved repairing and using them. We’ve been dividing and selling his collection on and off for years, but are starting to struggle in knowing what to keep and what to sell.

I’m starting with two planes.
Metal Plane
The wood infill smoothing plane is made from either brass or gunmetal. How can you tell the difference?
It’s just under 8 3/4” (22cm) long
Weight without the cap iron and blade is 2195g
The cap iron is stamped Mathieson and Son Glasgow
The blade is Robert Sorby
Original dark wood
There are two owner names: J Lowrie stamped over J B Spowart.

Wooden Horn Handled Plane
Suspect this is Continental. Looks like oak
I’ve tried to identify the blade which is stamped with what looks like an eye. Would love to know it’s origins.
Weighs 909g
Is 9 3/4” (25.5cm) long
Unfortunately I can’t get the blade out.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Carol

 

[paulrbarnard]

The metal plane is practically worthless. I’ll send you my address and a pound.

Seriously that’s a nice plane and looks to be in nice condition. They are collectible as well as usable. Mathieson is a very well known maker so there is plenty of price guide for that one. A search for Mathieson infill plane will get you a lot of information.

I’m not a wooden plan guy so can’t say much about it but you can use a soft faced mallet and give it a good thump on the heel of the plane (the flat end opposite the handle) and it should loosen the wedge.

 

[Alba2023]

Appreciate your time.
Wasn’t sure if the metal plane was a Mathieson even though the cap iron is stamped accordingly, but will try a find a similar one, thank you.
Will look for a soft mallet tomorrow and give the wooden plane a good thump!
Many thanks
C.

 

[kwigly]

The plane blade with an eye (and likely the horned wooden plane) will be French, made by Goldenberg. Französische Werkzeughersteller und -händler: Goldenberg, Dorlisheim

 

[Orraloon]

I suspect the infill is not a Mathieson. Great as they are that looks even better and it may have been made by that J Lowrey himself. The woodwork on it is outstanding and its about the best looking infill I have seen.
Regards
John

 

[Alba2023]

The plane blade with an eye (and likely the horned wooden plane) will be French, made by Goldenberg. Französische Werkzeughersteller und -händler: Goldenberg, Dorlisheim

Thank you so much. The article is amazing, I tried so hard to find information on makers marks on blades, to no avail. There was limited information on British makers, but clearly looking in the wrong place for European tool makers.
I’ve still to try and get the blade out of the plane, but knowing they probably made by the same manufacturer is reassuring.
Dads real passion was wood infill planes which he picked up primarily at car boot sales, so you do wonder how this would have ended up in Scotland.
Will put it to the side for now and it might be one we sell.
I have dozens of cap irons and blades, which I’ve yet to look through. Can I ask you if there are any that are particularly collectible?
Again, thank you.
Carol

 

[Alba2023]

I suspect the infill is not a Mathieson. Great as they are that looks even better and it may have been made by that J Lowrey himself. The woodwork on it is outstanding and its about the best looking infill I have seen.
Regards
John

Thanks John.
The quality of the plane really does stand out. The other planes are mainly steel, with some of the smaller ones made of brass coloured metal. Will put it in the pile with the planes I know are Scottish. It’s got to be a keeper.
Kind regards,
Carol

 

[dannyr]

The plane blade with an eye (and likely the horned wooden plane) will be French, made by Goldenberg. Französische Werkzeughersteller und -händler: Goldenberg, Dorlisheim

That's what I was thinking, but I think the marking says guss stahl, ie crucible-type cast steel. I know that Goldenberg had German connections and their main plant was in a part German-speaking area of France, but surprising to me that they mark it like this,in German, not acier fondu or other French

 

[C.R. Miller]

The gunmetal plane is definitely not a Mathieson (or a Sorby for that matter). It's a "user-made" plane - made by the woodworker himself. The original maker would have purchased a casting - either rough or cleaned up - from a foundry or tool dealer, then he would have "infilled" the plane himself with a choice bit of timber. In this case it looks like it's ebony - though it could be a very dark piece of rosewood.

The plane is not worth as much as a "name brand" plane, but it still should be worth anywhere between $350 to $500 USD. Age-wise, I would put it anywhere from 1880 to 1920.

Gunmetal is a type of bronze, by the way. Gunmetal and brass are very similar in look, but brass is usually a bit softer and not as brittle. Oh, and it's more likely to be English, rather than Scottish.