# Question about these plow plane irons. Sandusky and a couple of others.



## notitfortat (Apr 26, 2014)

Went to a junk store yesterday that has random old tools from time to time. I was hoping to find some old bench chisels but no luck. I did get this box of plow plane irons though for a steal. The six on the left are Sandusky, the two on the right are marked P. Aug. Holling which I think are German, and the other two don't seem to have a mark and I, in my limited knowledge, have no idea what sort of plane they belong to. An internet search didn't provide much info on the Holling irons. Anyone know about these irons and an approximate value maybe? I am hoping they are worth enough to be able to get a good set of bench chisels.

http://imgur.com/a/kBmZK


----------



## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

notitfortat said:


> Anyone know about these irons and an approximate value maybe? I am hoping they are worth enough to be able to get a good set of bench chisels.
> 
> http://imgur.com/a/kBmZK


Search Ebay for sold listings of plow plane irons or cutters to get a value estimate. They come up on there a lot.


----------



## Jim Harvey (Jan 26, 2008)

*Plow Plane*



notitfortat said:


> I, in my limited knowledge, have no idea what sort of plane they belong to. An internet search didn't provide much info on the Holling irons. Anyone know about these irons and an approximate value maybe? I am hoping they are worth enough to be able to get a good set of bench chisels.
> 
> http://imgur.com/a/kBmZK


Very good find, wish I could do the same. I have one working plow plane with only one quarter inch blade. The angled part of the skate on these planes have a pointed edge that engages the groove on the back of the blade to keep it from wandering from side to side. Plow planes normally came with a set of blades from 1/8 to half inch.


----------



## HandMadeInWood (Jul 30, 2013)

The two angled blades in the centre are not from a plough plane. They appear to be from a wooden rebate plane and although they cut a horizontal line, are mounted in the plane on a skew, hence the angled end. These blades (in the UK at least) rarely bear makers names. Even so, they could originate in other types of speciality planes - dovetail, or library-shelf planes spring to mind; it's hard to tell without the original item.

Plough plane irons on their own, usually refugees from broken planes, are quite common on the second hand market on this side of the Atlantic, but according to some folk I have read about, tend to be rare in the US. Their value as a matched set from the same plane and maker tends to be greater than a 'harlequin' set made up from different sources because the angle of taper along the blades should be the same so that it matches the wedge and are interchangeable. Not a good idea to split a matched set - affects the value drastically.

The backs of the irons were usually a flat billet of very hard steel forged onto a softer iron body for strength. The sneck at the end is very soft and will deform, therefore they do make good chisels, even when handled (they bend). If you don't want to recreate a plough plane, they do, however make excellent hand router blades, as this blogger has done: 

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/100861 

All best from Wales


----------

