Stanley #2 ?

[Lord Nibbo]

Did Stanley number 2 planes ever come with a high knob?

I'm not sure if the tote is original either, they just don't look right.
It's microns over 7" long, should I give it a clean up or should I leave it all alone?

 

[tnimble]

What I know they did but only just before they stopped the production of the no 2 plane. In fact only a few months back a fellow woodworker / collector brought back among a lot of wonderful planes two no 2's from his holiday to the states. One of those was the high knob version and also still had the decal on it. The plane looked very out of proportions like in your pictures.

I'm not sure if yours is completely authentic. Try to date the plane by the body, blade and levercap only.

Its in a very good condition. You could refinish the knob and tote. For the body you could decrease it and then rub the jappaning with some linseed oil and give it a bake at about 200 degrees centrigrade for a bout half an hour. That should bring up the colour and shine. Then buff the side and maybe flatten the sole.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

I'm not sure if yours is completely authentic. Try to date the plane by the body, blade and levercap only. Its in a very good condition.

I got doubts too, no Stanley name appears anywhere, not even the blade. Just No 2 directly behind the knob, and just a 2 under the corner of the frog just above the adjuster wheel, the adjuster wheel is also very small compared to my 3 & 4. :?

 

[tnimble]

I got doubts too, no Stanley name appears anywhere, not even the blade. Just No 2 directly behind the knob, and just a 2 under the corner of the frog just above the adjuster wheel

The no 2 and no 1 have much less cast into the body. At least in the lateral adjuster stanley should be stamped in the metal. Altough sometimes very hard to see because the stamping is very light. The blade and lever cap seems to be correct. That there is no stanley on the lever cap is very normal. Only the long body version (almost as long as a number 3) have bailey casted on the body.

, the adjuster wheel is also very small compared to my 3 & 4. :?

The knob is indeed smaller and of a slightly different profile. Again only the long body version has the common small type knob like a no 4 has.

 

[Pekka Huhta]

Both the tote and the knob look exactly like the ones I had on my Kunz #2. On my plane the lever cap has KUNZ cast in it, but otherwise it looks like yours.

If it was a real Stanley, it would have quite many modifications. The lever cap looks like an old one (with keyhole, not the kidney-shaped variation) and with no text cast in. On the other hand varnished hardwood handles are definitely newer production. Theoretically it might be a newish Stanley with a changed lever cap, but the varnish on newer Stanley handles was definitely darker.

My guess is that it's a Kunz, because I did not like the knob on it and that looks just like it...

Pekka

 

[tnimble]

I don't know the kunz very well but maybe it is one.

As far as the no 2 is concernt the normal rules of the various changes made to the levercap and frog assembly differ from the no 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The no 1 and 2 do not have all those changes.

The frog of Lord Nibbo' plane looks identical to the first bailey design with the H, curved assembly holes, no break inbetween them and there should be no frog adjustment screw. The sjape of the blade and levercap match Altough the notched logo on the lever cap is missing which should be present for the later no 2 models.

However what makes me doubt the plane is the tote. As I recollect the tote should curve closer toward the blade. The top of the tote should run almost paralell to the blade.

 

[Steers]

To answer your question yes stanley No.2 did have high knobs. The first models had a low beaded knob, then from late type 11 an up they had high knobs. The latest models to leave New Brittain Conn. were 8 inches long, were the only No.2 to have a raised ring, were the only No.2's to say anything on the bed besides No.2 (Made in usa), and the only No.2's to have a kidney shaped lever cap. Some of the later ones produced have blue frogs. The later ones are more scarce and demand a premium.

That being said I do believe the tote and knob on your plane are original. I believe it is not a stanley because they were never marked No.2 behind the knob. What does the cutter say? What does the lateral lever say? I believe your plane is german made by the shape of the tote and knob. I dont believe it is Kunz because the stain on the knob and tote and also the color of the jappaning. However it may be an early Kunz plane. My guess it is made by Jordan.

As for cleaning it up it depends what you are going to do with it. If you plan to use it I would say clean it up to your standards. If you are going to sell it give it a light cleaning with fine steel wool and oil it up.

You have to understand there is a special market for No.2 Sized planes. I know many collectors that only collect this size plane from all the makers they can find. I live in the US and have never seen this variation of a No.2 . If it were mine I would sell it on flea bay after you find out exactly what it is. I will foward the picture to a No.2 collector to see if I can provide any more info.

Included from left to right all stanley: No.2 prelateral t4, No.2 T11 with high knob, No.2C type 13 SW, and the last No.2 type 19 with the raised ring and keyhole lever cap

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Stripped it down, looks rather crude compared to my Stanley Baileys 3 & 4.

The japaning looks more like paint as it's very thin, could be age I suppose. There is even japaning on the frog seating area :roll: same goes for the underside of the frog. No frog adjustment but I did find a lower case letter (a) on the corner of the frog opposite the number 2 to the right of the blade adjustment. The frog seating is not machined flat parallel to the the sole but is machined at an angle of about 10 degrees. I'm begining to think with the odd looking tote I've got a bit of a mish mash of parts :lol: