This past week while out doing a little picking I ran across this wonderful old plane. It had been in a log cabin located not too far from where I live. A gentleman I know was cleaning it out and told me of a few tools he found in there and wanted to know if I was interesting in taking a look at them. Well that is like asking a woman if she likes Chocolate, of course I wanted to look at them.

So after making a trip out to look at them I picked a few and today I am sharing this one. More to come in the weeks ahead so get ready for what I believe are a few nice pieces.

As a rule I am not usually interested in a lot of the old wooden hand planes as I have shared with you before. But occasionally you run into one that just calls out your name to rescue it and this was one of those.

This is one monster of a plane coming in at 27" long.

A Lyon & Smith hand plane.

Seeing that it had a very nice stamp on the front I figured this will be a breeze to find all kind of information on the makers of this plane. Wow was I wrong as I had to do quite a bit of digging to come up with much and I think what I have put together here is a good bit more information that I was able to find in any one spot.

Joseph W. Lyon was born about 1812 in Mass. Between the years of 1832 and 1834 he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and began making planes. I have not been able to determine where he might have receive his apprenticeship but many of the plane makers from this time and area were trained by the Baldwin’s in New York.  I have nothing at this time to prove that as being the place of his training though.

At 22 years of age, he first appears in the Cincinnati city directory and is boarding at the home of William Jones. Then in 1836-37 he is not listed and may have moved away for a short time.

Again in the Cincinnati city directory 1839-40 directory Joseph W. Lyon from Mass. appears and is now boarding with Mrs. Sarah M. Stevens on Plum Street. Another Plane Maker is listed as working at Lyon & Co by the name of James Gouge. Robert Turner of Maryland is also listed as a plane maker at Lyon & Hall’s but I believe this is a different Lyon.

From the 1839-1840 Cincinnati directory.

Sometime during the period of 1840 and 1841 Joseph Lyon married Sarah J. from Cincinnati. Her parents were immigrants from England and settled in the Cincinnati area. This may account for the period we did not see Joseph listed in the city directory. In 1841 they had their first child, a son named Charles H Lyon.

In 1842, now thirty years old, Joseph Lyon has joined with William McKinnell and they have opened a hardware dealership which is the successors to John Creagh. They are listed as makers of planes and edge tools in Cincinnati, Ohio. Joseph and his family are still boarding with Mrs. Sarah M. Stevens.

Ad from the 1842 Cincinnati Directory.

1843 Ad

Ad from the 1844 Cincinnati Directory

Joseph and Mckinnell may have split  in 1848 and John H. Smith has joined the business and they are now listed both as plane and edge tool makers and Hardware dealers and manufactures. By 1849-50 business has apparently been good enough that Joseph and his family are no longer boarding but now have their own home at the corner of 4^th and 5^th avenue.

Edward Sullivan is also working for Lyon & Smith during this time. In 1850-51 Isaac Lockwood begins working with Lyon & Smith. There may have been some tools manufactured during this time with the name Lockwood Lyon & Smith on them. Also at this same time it looks like the Smith may have changed to Charles Smith. In the 1850-51 Cincinnati city directory, there is no longer a listing for John H. Smith.

Also by 1850 Joseph W. Lyon has established a nice family with Charles (9) the oldest, John D (6) and Joseph (3) the youngest. It also appears they may have a nanny or housekeeper named Louisa Green living with them.

1850 Census

During 1851-52 Thomas Wall a blacksmith joins the team and they began to produce a line of draw knives that will be stamped Lyon Smith Wall.

From 1852 on there is a listing only under Joseph W. Lyon’s name for Lyon & Smith. There are no ads for the business in any part of the city directory.

By 1860 Joseph W. Lyons is not listed in the census and Sarah and two of the sons show up in the 1870 and 1880 census. They youngest son is a silver smith so it appears none of the boys took up the trade of their father.

The plane is made of Beech and has some worm or bug holes in it. I saw a listing in another forum saying that these planes were only good for what little heat you could get from them on a fire. I have a different feeling. No, it will never now be a production plane in my shop, but it will be a part of history preserved. Our society has become a throw away disposable group. If it is not something we would use, it isn't worth anything. I am glad that a couple of guys on here (Larry, Shane and Phil) showed me how to look past the rust and dirt and see the beauty of a tool that was made with pride and made to last. Not only functional but in most cases ornate.

So this plane will now have a nice long retirement with an occasional rubbing with some wax to keep it from drying out and just to touch it and imagine the hands of the skilled person that made it and may have used it to produce some of the very finest furniture of that time.

Well lets take a look at the plane iron on this wonderful old plane.

The Iron was made by W. Greaves & Sons.

In 1817, William Greaves had already brought his two sons, Edward and Richard into the business. By 1820’s both Edward and Richard were the driving force in the foundation of Sheaf Works. Richard though is credited as the key architect of the scheme.

In 1823 the Greaves family built Sheaf Works in Sheffield, England and it was the beginning of great changes in the Sheffield cutlery trade. The main block of Sheaf Works which still stands today was the centerpiece of the first large-scale factory in town.

It didn’t take long for them to find a market in the USA. By 1849, William Greaves and Sons was listed as “American Merchantsâ€, selling table knives, razors, files, edge tools, railway springs and steel. Besides the large quantities of table cutlery, they also made many Bowie Knives. They have grown to the point of having an office on Pearl Street in Manhattan, New York. It is said that America made William Greaves possibly the wealthiest manufacturer in Sheffield at this time.

The plane iron is 8" long and 2 1/2" wide.

The Iron was produced in Sheffield, England. It appears this plane was made sometime in the time of 1849 to 1852. Not in bad condition for a 162 +- wooden hand plane.

This one will sit along side the other one I shared with you some time back made by A&E Baldwin. If you look at the two side by side you can see why I thought he might have his apprenticeship under the Baldwins.

It is always fun to find one of these old tools and especially if it is in pretty good condition. But the real fun comes in researching the history of the tool and imaging the stories it could tell if only they could talk.

Happy Patriot Picking to you, keep your eyes open for these wonderful old tools that surface every once in a while.

Don't miss next Thursday' edition, got a nice old piece to share with you.

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John Moody
Site Administratorhttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.†Shaker Saying

Wow, nice looking piece and quite a lot of research!

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

Now - that's what I call BLOCK planes - great pickin, John

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host
'Stop complaining about the storm and learn to dance in the rain.'

Excdellent snag John and I love the background.

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

John, thank you thank you thank you. Wow, what a story and the time you took to put this all together. Wonderful work sir!! I loved reading every word of it and I was sucked into a time warp, I could practically hear the buggies whirling down the streets of Cincinnati and the busy hardware store they must of had with their plane and iron making business in there as well. Home run on this story man!!!!! Great job, and I completely look forward to next Thursday!

I completely disagree with those who say they are only good for firewood, how wrong they are, I have heard that same mantra spewed about hand tool forums too and I cringe. Not to mention they make excellent users.

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Thanks guys for the kind words. It was an amazing research and I enjoyed getting into it so much. The more I could find, the more I wanted to find. It is like for a short time you become a part of their life and you are waiting on them to share more of it with you.

Hope you enjoyed the read.

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John Moody
Site Administratorhttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.†Shaker Saying