I was contacted by a Navy buddy about his wooden hand plane. He was interested in what it might be worth. I know it is difficult to say without a detailed description and hands on. Here is what I know-

 

About 28" long

Blade is stamped with Thomas Firth and sons

The body has a stamp of W. Hoger- he said this is very hard to read

 

He sent me these 2 pix-

 

Any information and help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Lew

a quick search turns up

Thos. Firth & Sons, Norfolk Works - Sheffield, UK

and several articles.and a little more here

Thomas Firth & Sons Vintage Wood Smoothing Plane

$39.00 used from eBay.

jointer is probably a bit more.   how good condition on the sole?

other than a little rust the blade doesn't look too bad

there are a few more wood jointers on ebay, but they're not going for much

Thanks Pete, I'll pass this along to him.

Looks like Peter got you the basic information. W. Hogar was probably the original owners name. It was quite common for them to stamp their names or at least their initials into the body of the plane. I have several molding planes with initials and names. This plane is probably mid to late 1800's. I don't believe that there is a huge collector's market for these, but if the sole is in good condition; flat, and the mouth is not too wide, it is a good usable plane.

 

 

The plane on the far left is the same vintage as the one you are asking about. I paid $20 for it at a local flea market. I flattened the sole and sharpened the iron and put it to work. It is an excellent user and one of my favorites. The one next to it is a Keen Kutter and, also, an excellent user.

 

If you stay away from Flea Bay and their grossly inflated prices these types of planes can be had at a reasonable price. They make wonderful users and are easy to repair if the mouths have gotten too wide.

Thanks, Bill. I'll send this information to him.

Lew

23 hours ago, p_toad said:

Thomas Firth & Sons Vintage Wood Smoothing Plane

$39.00 used from eBay.

Seriously? Around here, those planes are apparently worth their weight in GOLD! You see the odd one in antique shops for hundreds of dollars. Rich people buy them to hang on the wall or sit on the mantle in their million-dollar houses. Guess it all depends on WHO is buying it! 

John

3 hours ago, HARO50 said:

Seriously? Around here, those planes are apparently worth their weight in GOLD! You see the odd one in antique shops for hundreds of dollars. Rich people buy them to hang on the wall or sit on the mantle in their million-dollar houses. Guess it all depends on WHO is buying it! 

John

Wow! VAT at work again, John. Apparently, I'm sitting on a potential gold mine, NOT!

They run about..$20 in the Antique Stores around here....some even still have their irons....