Stanley · No. 1 · 1869–1943
Stanley's smallest bench plane is 5½ inches long with a 1¼-inch iron. Leonard Bailey was probably making the size in Boston by 1865, and Stanley sold it from 1869 until 1943. It never got a lateral adjustment lever, a frog adjusting screw or a number cast into the body, and its brass depth nut is solid rather than hollowed like the bigger planes' nuts. People really did use them. Popular Woodworking traced No. 1s to beekeepers, bamboo fly-rod makers, boatbuilders, shingle installers and trade-school kids small enough to hold one like a jack. Patrick Leach notes most survivors are in good shape because they saw light use, and every serious Stanley collector wants one, which makes it the most valuable plane in the Bailey line. That's also why it has been reproduced well enough to fool a beginner. Buy this one as a collectible, and check it carefully.
Identify and date it
The No. 1 is 5½ inches long against the No. 2's 7, with a 1¼-inch iron, no lateral lever and no number cast on it. On an original, the threaded rod the brass nut rides on runs parallel to the sole, while reproductions tilt it up toward the tote and have coarser castings. Some reproduction irons are stamped on both sides, but genuine loose irons are easy to swap in, so don't rely on the iron. Stanley never made a corrugated No. 1, so a grooved sole rules it out.
Type Study sweet spot
Any genuine Stanley No. 1 (1869–1943). The Type numbers only fit it loosely.
The No. 1 never got the lateral lever, the recessed depth nut or the frog adjusting screw, so it has fewer, longer-lived Types than the No. 4. Its frog seat changed once, from an H-shaped receiver on early planes to a broad, flat machined pad. Stanley used up older marked parts for years, so an iron logo gives a not-earlier-than date, not a production date.
If you’ll use it
Leach thinks a No. 1 is better kept on a shelf than in the shop because of its value. For small smoothing jobs, a No. 2 or No. 3 is the users' choice.
If you’ll collect it
Collectors want an original body with a clean mouth and original rosewood tote and knob. Reproduction totes are around, and so are plenty of unused genuine No. 1 irons, so a correct iron alone proves little.
The thin casting cracks and chips around the mouth, and cracked totes are common. Some have the frog screws poking through the sole where an owner drilled it, and a surprising number are missing the knob.
Buying guide
Only three No. 1s are listed, so the $1,350–2,600 band isn't a market read. Two of them carry the same title word for word from different sellers, at about $2,515 and $2,642 delivered, which is the copied-listing pattern, so treat both with caution. The one to watch is the auction titled with some flaws, at about $209 delivered with 19 bids. The No. 1 is the most valuable plane in the Bailey line and has been reproduced well enough to fool a beginner, so check that the threaded rod under the brass nut runs parallel to the sole, the sole has no grooves, there's no lateral lever, and the mouth has no cracks.
$208.53est. delivered
The only No. 1 here without a copied title, at about $209 delivered with 19 bids, and the seller says it has some flaws. There's no market here to set a cap from, so ask what the flaws are and for side photos of the adjuster rod and a sole photo, then bid what that answer is worth to you.
Stanley No. 1 Smooth Bench Plane Vintage Antique - Some Flaws
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 11, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Snapshot
Checked . Some may have sold.
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 11, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Used$208.53est. delivered
$202.50 + $6.03 shipping
Auction · 19 bids · ends in 3d 17h
Good buy
Some flaws per the title. 19 bids, almost four days left.
Seller: zamzamini
99.6% positive
Used$2,515.00est. delivered
$2,500.00 + $15.00 shipping
Buy It Now$2,500.00
This seller takes offers, and many sellers accept less than the asking price.
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Check the seller
Same title as another seller's No. 1 at $2,625. Treat both as suspect until the photos check out.
Seller: bluewatercoinsandresale
100% positive
Used$2,641.60est. delivered
$2,625.00 + $16.60 shipping
Buy It Now$2,625.00
Check the seller
Same title as another seller's No. 1 at $2,500, with a (J) added.
Seller: chipper01work
99.9% positive
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