Two kinds of buyers look at the same Stanley listings. Collectors want a plane that's original, early or scarce, with as much of its factory finish as possible. Woodworkers want a plane that cuts. Sellers often call the second kind user grade, but it isn't a formal grade. It just means a plane bought to work. Many flaws that cost a collector a lot don't change how a plane works at all, and that gap is where a working buyer finds good planes.
What collectors pay for
Patrick Leach's Blood & Gore notes on Stanley's planes are full of small details that move collector value and do nothing for use. A few come up again and again.
- Original finish. Collectors want the japanning original and matching between the frog and the body, and on the nickel-plated planes like the No. 92, Leach says the amount of plating left has a big effect on value and none on use.
- Decals. Stanley put a colorful decal on many totes in the 1920s. It wore off quickly, so one that survives says the plane saw little use, and it raises the value. Reproduction decals exist, with a darker blue-green background than the original's aquamarine.
- Original wood. Rosewood totes and knobs are what resellers look for, since Stanley used stained or painted hardwood in some years. Reproduction totes are a real concern on scarce planes like the No. 1 and No. 2.
- No holes or repairs. A hole drilled for hanging the plane on a hook kills it as a collectible, especially on scarcer models, and a welded lever cap sends collectors running.
- Early features. The first versions of many models draw collectors even where later ones work better.
What a working plane needs
A user plane needs a sound casting, a flat enough sole, a frog that seats firmly, an iron with life left in it and a tote you can hold. Leach is relaxed about plenty of things collectors care about. A cracked tote is fine if it's tight and can be glued. Chips along the lever cap's edge, left by owners who used it as a screwdriver, lower collector value but don't affect use as long as the cap still clamps. Chips at the toe or heel are the same. A replacement tote or knob is a good fix on a common plane.
Some damage matters to everyone. Pass on these whoever you are.
- Cracks in the body, most often on the sides or at the mouth.
- A front section broken off and welded back on.
- Heavy pitting on the sole or iron.
- A sole badly twisted along its length.
- A frog broken at the top, or a lever cap cracked at its screw hole, which loosens in use.
Where the two markets split on the same plane
The block planes show the split clearly. Leach calls the earliest No. 9½ with a mouth set by slotted screw the most valuable version, and an awkward one to use. The first No. 60, with no adjustable mouth, is more useful as a collectible than as a tool, and the scarce No. 61 is usually priced beyond what a user would pay for a low-angle plane with a fixed mouth. Buy a later No. 60½ to work with and let collectors have the early ones.
Specialty planes go the other way sometimes. Users want the No. 45 from about 1915 on, when Stanley added a fine-adjust fence, while early floral-cast planes appeal to collectors. With the No. 45 and No. 55, completeness drives collector interest so strongly that Leach says a boxed set of optional cutters can be worth more than the plane. A user only needs the cutters for the work in front of them.
Paint color is another split. Stanley's blue paint on late bench planes marks the decline of the line, and Leach says it should make you run. On block planes, blue is fine, because Stanley's block plane standards didn't slip at the same time.
A short guide to dating
You don't need to master the type study to buy a user, but a few features in the photos help you avoid paying collector money for an ordinary plane or missing a good one. These come from the Hyperkitten type study.
- Type 11 (1910–1918) adds APR-19-10 to the patent dates cast behind the frog.
- The Sweetheart logo, a heart under the STANLEY rectangle, appears on irons from about 1920 to 1935.
- Type 14 (1929–1930) brings a raised ring cast into the bed under the knob.
- Type 16 (1933–1941) has a kidney-shaped hole in the lever cap.
- Type 17 (1942–1945) is wartime production with hardwood handles and almost any mix of parts.
- Type 20 (1962–1967) has blue-painted castings and a two-piece pressed-steel forked lever.
The type study cheat sheet goes further. The 1918–1941 era page shows the planes from the middle of that run.
Mixed parts
A plane assembled from parts of different years is common, and for a user it's usually fine if the parts fit and work together. For a collector it's a fault. Leach's advice on one point is firm, though. Don't fit a lateral adjusting lever to an early plane that never had one. Sell it to a collector and buy a plane that came with the lever. The same applies to modern replacement irons, which are often thicker than Stanley's and may need the mouth filed wider to fit, a permanent change that can affect the plane's value later.
Before you clean or change anything
Cleaning and repainting is how a user plane gets back to work, and it's also how a collectible one loses most of its value. One Popular Woodworking restorer repaints when less than about two-thirds of the japanning survives, and he's clear that his method is for users. His advice for anything that might be valuable is to get other opinions before scrubbing it. Our restoration guide covers the full user tune-up.
Which one to buy
If you're buying planes to use, put your money into sound castings and good irons, and let worn japanning, chipped lever caps, replaced totes and missing decals bring the price down. Leave early, scarce and complete boxed examples to the people who'll put them on a shelf. Start with Stanley or the bench plane listings, and if a listing seems collector-grade for a user's money, ask for photos of the casting, the iron's stamp and the tote from several angles before you commit.
