The scans below are from the Joh. Weiss & Sohn 1909 Catalog of 1909. The company is one of the oldest planemakers still in existence, and was founded 1820 by a Bavarian carpenter, Johann Baptist Weiss, who emigrated to Vienna, Austria, in 1809. Weiss was succeeded by his son J. B. Weiss, Jr. who, according to history, was on the cutting edge of modern business practices – using market analysis and time studies before 1850. To promote exports he competed in the great 19th Century Expositions, most notably in London in 1851, Paris in 1855, St. Petersburg, and Sydney in 1879. Due to a devastating fire in 1945, where all records were lost, it is unsure when the company first started exporting to the United States, but it is estimated they started around about 1850 or so. In 1911 Weiss aquired the firm of D. Flir Vorm. Franz Wertheim, a manufacturer of plane irons and steel tools. Until this time Weiss had bought its plane irons from the firm of Herman, whose name appears on many Weiss irons above the Weiss logo and below the double eagle which signifies Weiss’s appointment as an official supplier to the old Austrian Royal [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Joh. Weiss & Sohn 1909 Catalog – Part I

The scans below are the remaining images from the Joh. Weiss & Sohn 1909 Catalog of 1909. Anyone interested in the first part of the catalog — including the history of the firm — can follow the link given below. Part Two continues on with the various molding planes and plane irons made and offered by the company, as well as featuring some of the popular metal handplanes, spokeshaves and scrapers manufactured by Stanley Tools in the United States. Special thanks is given to The Mid-West Tool Collectors Association, The Early American Industries Association and to Seth W. Burchard, who did the initial translation of the catalog, from German to English, in 1980, and Howard Steele, who owned the original catalog. This catalog, being of some 40 or so pages featuring hand planes alone, has been broken up into two main parts so that each part can load faster than one full page of 40 images. To see part one, click here. Click on each image to see a larger version of the page. Two ~ Antique Carpenter's Wood Molding Planes ~ L. C. Corning & Spencer US $9.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Thursday May-17-2012 17:55:24 PDT   | Watch [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Joh. Weiss & Sohn 1909 Catalog – Part II

These scans are from the Edward Preston & Sons catalog of 1901. Edward Preston Sr. (1805-1883) was first listed as a plane maker at 77 Lichfield Street in the 1833 Birmingham Directory but it is believed he may have started business there as early as 1825. Around 1850 his son, Edward Preston Jr. (1835-1908) left school to join his father’s business. It appears he must have been quite a talented and resourceful young man, as he was later able to start up his own “wood and brass spirit level manufactory” at 97-1/2 Lichfield Street by 1864. By 1866 Edward Jr. had added planes, routers, joiners, coach, gun, cabinet and carpenters tools to his line, and the following year he moved his shop from his father’s address and relocated to 26 Newton Street, before moving again to a much larger premises at 22-24 Whittall Street. This location became known as the Whittall Works and later became the office and factory of Edward Preston and Sons, Ltd. In 1889 Edward Preston’s three sons were brought into the firm and the name was changed to Edward Preston & Sons. As seen in these scanned pages there was a healthy line of malleable and [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Edward Preston & Sons 1901 Catalog

The scans below are from the Samuel Tyzack & Son catalog of 1908. Samuel Tyzack was in business from 1861 to 1867 at 8 Old St. before moving to 347 Old St. & 153 Shoreditch from 1872 and later 343 & 345 Old St. in 1892. In 1905 the firm became Samuel Tyzack & Son. According to W.L. Goodman, Tyzacks published a sizable hardback general tool catalog during the early decades of the 20th century, of which hand planes featured prominently. Like so many catalogs of the day there is a good choice of the hand planes available, from wooden bench planes, moulding planes, hollows and rounds, rabbet planes and plows to the cast iron planes in many variations made by Stanley Rule And Level. Even the best quality British iron and infill planes are represented, with hand planes by both Norris and Preston. Interestingly there’s also the “Ulmer Reform Plane” on page 20, featuring an adjustable mouth and with the body made of selected apple wood and a sole made from “Goat’s Wood”. While one can only speculate on just what “Goat’s Wood” might actually be, it should be noted that the modern-day Ulmia plane now has a body [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Tyzack And Son 1908 Catalog

The Buck family name has long been synonymous with collectors and users of hand planes and other woodworking tools throughout the past 150 years or so. Spanning several generations (and continuing right up to the current day) the Buck family were a dynasty of tool makers and sellers in London and had outlets throughout other parts of Britain. In the early 19th century, brothers, George, Joseph and Matthew Buck, became very well known and respected as London toolmakers and dealers. Their sister, Ann Buck marries John Roe Hickman, who was a printer by trade. In 1840, Ann Hickman opened a small tool shop, Buck & Co, in the East End of London. As this was during the industrial revolution, where innovations in tools, machinery and technology flourished, the business did extremely well and Buck & Hickman soon moved to Whitechapel Road, London. In 1901 the Glasgow branch opened, followed four years later by the Manchester branch and, another four years after that, the Birmingham branch. There was rapid expansion of the business right through to 1914. It should also be noted that Buck & Hickman played an important role in World War I, and then again in WWII, providing both [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Buck & Hickman 1935 Catalog

The scans below are from the Stanley Rule And Level Company catalog of January 1902 As always there were a few changes to the list and a few more hand planes added, which. I’ve included in the introductory piece below. NOTE: For the purposes of this site, the “Changes in List Prices”, “Changes in Design” and “New Tools” are edited to reflect the changes with Planes, rather than other Stanley tools. “January 1, 1902. We would request that our Catalogue No. 28 be carefully examined, as it contains various changes in List Prices of important lines. It also illustrates certain improvements in the design of Tools heretofore made, and various New Tools not previously listed. On the Discount Sheet accompanying this Catalogue we show only the initial or base discount. On the last pages of this Catalogue will be found a list of the goods which are regularly ordered in Original Cases. Opposite each tool is given:       A Code Word — Contents of a case.       Net and Gross Weights — Measurements. This list will be found useful in making up orders, insuring good packing, with the least amount of handling of the goods. The Weights and Measurements given are approximately [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Stanley 1902 Catalog

This is the second Norris catalog addition to the site and is a reproduction of the 1928 catalog. The main difference you will note is that most of the images of the bench planes feature the Norris adjuster, whereas in the 1914 catalog the adjuster was new and not fitted in the engravings. I’ve transcribed the opening blurb of the catalog below. “In presenting this small list to the cabinet maker and general woodworker, we wish to say we shall continue to maintain the high standard of quality and finish which users of our planes have found and appreciated. Our range of planes covers all requirements for working hard and soft wood, and we ask users to compare the value we offer with the lower price imported article when making their purchase. Our experience and service is at the disposal of any who may find difficulty in producing a perfect plane finish on any class of wood. Our distribution is carried out at home and abroad through tools dealers whose stock of our planes may be inspected and selection made before purchase. Patent Adjusting device for Plane Irons We fit this to most of our Jointing and Smoothing Planes. The [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Norris 1928 Catalog

The scans below are from the Thomas Norris & Son catalog of 1914. The catalog features the entire range of Norris hand planes, from dovetailed smoothers, panel planes and jointers right down to tiny violin makers planes cast in bronze. Mitre planes, shoulder planes and rebate planes are also featured, along with bullnose planes and chariot planes. The cheaper cast iron and gunmetal bench planes are included in the catalog as well, as are the new “Stanley style” planes. Along with Stewart Spiers, Norris was arguably the most well known maker of infill planes and many collectors have favored these planes for their beauty and workmanship. One such reason for their popularity may be the unique Norris adjusters that were fitted to some of the later planes. At the time of this 1914 catalog this adjuster was a brand new addition to the range. It is interesting to see some of the other products found in the catalog, such as the “Norris High Pitch Setting Device” and the “Iron Fronts for Smoothing Planes”. The knife handles are an oddity though, as they’re a bit of a deviation from handplanes. It should be noted that a printed reproduction of this 1914 [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Norris 1914 Catalog

The following images are taken from the George Adams “Woodworking Tools” catalog of 1923. George Adams was a tool and hardware merchants located at 255/6 High Holborn in London. While most of the planes and spokeshaves featured on these pages are manufactured by Stanley, there are a few other makers represented as well, such as Preston, Marples and Gage. There may also be some Mathieson planes but it’s difficult to tell. To my knowledge this catalog has not been reproduced by any publisher or society but, as “new” catalogs are published from time to time this may change. A transcript of the introduction for this catalog is below: GEORGE ADAMS ABRIDGED WOODWORKING W.231 TOOL LIST This list does not represent all the woodworking hand tools we carry, but is only an abridged selection of those that are most likely to be wanted in every-day use. If one should not happen to find just what one requires, please write and ask for loose descriptive sheets of the article wanted, we will then forward details of what we carry. Postage is inserted against each article. This is the postal cost for one article only in Great Britain, not abroad nor in Colonies. [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at George Adams 1923 Catalog