Unusual horned plane

[RichardHants]

Can anyone tell me anything about this design of plane with a "horn" at the front. Was it for a particular purpose, or was it just someone's idea of making a coffin plane easier to hold? The iron has a logo of WW with a crown between the two letters, but I can't make out the name that is cast above it.

 

[Jacob]

It's a common European design sometimes referred to in the UK as a "Bismarck" .
I've got several including an ECE scrub and a very similar home made UK version. 7 to 9" long
They come in various shapes and sizes, with single or double irons.
Yours is too wide for a scrub and would have a shallower camber so could be seen as nearer to English jack plane.
Often found in English kits as a useful alternative to the basic Jack (12" or longer)
Can't read the name - photo it at different light angles and you might get it.
https://www.fine-tools.com/schrup.html
Logo looks like FR.WIDH.WEISER? That'd give you the WW.

 

[Sideways]

As Jacob says, a European style.
EC Emmerich are a good place to start.

https://ecemmerich.de/en/portfolio/planes/

 

[Orraloon]

European style and sometimes referred to as a German style plane. Emir was the first one I came across and I think it was made in England. I think the family was connected to Emmerich on the continent. Picked it up in a junk shop and was the start of my wooden plane journey.
Can't quite make out the blade stamp either but it has a British look to it. May be they wanted to sell them in the UK. Market forces have been around a long time. Most of the ones I have seen were about as long as No4 with different blade cambers and mouth openings depending on the required task. Longer German planes for jointing tend to do away with the front horn and have a back handle like ours do. On the whole I quite like them.
Regards
John

 

[Exluthier]

Emmerich planes were / are on of the trade mark of ECE, a trading entity of the Ulmia company, based in Ulm, Germany. ECE kit is found all over the UK, as they dominated the schools craft/woodwork supply for generations, represented by Dryad (Leics) for some time. I can't tell which trade mark this is, but the were made with the horn left- or right-handed. As a southpaw, I have several of them, scrub plane, toothing plane, jack, etc. As Orraloon says, the jointers are not horned, and nor are the shoulder planes, etc.