A group of 25 hollows and rounds arrived at my shop a few days ago. They are in remarkably good shape for being somewhere near 140 years old. A full set of H&Rs is 36 planes, with a half-set being all the odd numbered, or all of the even numbered pairs. While more than a half-set, this collection does not contain an actual half-set. Yet, it contains many of the frequently used sizes or nearby neighbors.
The maker’s mark is CROW. William and Edward Crow, of Canterbury, England made planes from 1847 until the late 1880s. They used the mark CROW and CROW CANTERBURY. These are thought to be (by collector and “iron monger” Tony Seo) of the early part of the CROW business, with a CANTERBURY mark being added later.
Other marks on these planes indicate that they were kept together by at least two owners. W.A.P. Chuter was the first, with R. Woodward overstamping many of Chuter’s marks. Many of the irons are stamped T. HILDICK – LONODN.
They are in very good shape, have well shaped (and sharp) irons, and have no really serious rust. Remarkably, only one wedge has a broken finial and all bodies are free of serious damage. They came to me via the well known old tools dealer Patrick Leach.
Someday, they’ll be used to shoot moulded parts for clocks.
Wonderful, Bob! I have been looking for a half set for some time. I will contact Patrick. This half set looks fantastic!!!
Al
Yes, sign up for Patrick’s list. It arrives by mail once a month and I usually look at it very shortly after arrival. His stuff moves fast. While he carries a lot of wooden planes, I don’t often see collections as large as the one I caught. It takes patience to wait for one to appear.
A couple of other good tool folks who regularly move wooden planes are Sandford Moss and Joshua Clark.
Then, if you get tired of waiting, there are the new planemakers formerly Clark & Williams, now McConnell and Williams aka Old Street Tools and “Big Pink” Matt Bickford.
Bob,
Looks like you did well.
I have tall clock movements if that is what you plan to use your planes on.
Mike
Thanks Mike. I’ve visited your site before and remember your dials. They are very attractive.
My clock building interest currently rests with wall clocks, specifically regulators. Maybe that will change someday…
Ooooh, I’m jealous!!!
Now, Steve… If I had that very nice moving fillister you’re describing…
Those look like fine planes. I have a friend with a half set of hollows and rounds he got from Tony Murland in England. A quick tip from my friend – he rubbed chalk into the numbers on the front of his planes. The white chalk stands out well and makes it easy to choose the right plane but is completely reversable. My friend told me that this was an old historically correct way that was used by English cabinet makers to make the planes easier to use. Just an idea given you have an abundance of these planes.
Rick in Oakville (Canada)
Thanks Rick! That sounds like a fine tip, one that I will use after I get around to building a shelf for the planes.