Value of Stanley no. 85 scraper plane

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

396300
I got the oportunity to bid on this one at a local auction. The knob and tote can be tiltet and i seems in good condition.
What is a reasonable price ? the prices on ebay "buy it now" are ridicoulous

The same question for this no. 97
396301

[Jim Koepke]

One way to find the value is to look at completed listings on ebay. This also will help with seeing the effects of condition on prices.

Those two look like they are in the range of being desirable to collectors. Being of interest to the passions of collectors will always drive prices higher.

For some the only reason the #97 exists is for its collector value. The modern versions are less likely to suffer damage in use.

jtk

[Rob Lee]

Hi -

From Brown auction last Saturday:

Stanley 85, type 3 - $300 (lot 24)
Stanley 85, type 3 - $270 (lot 199)
Stanley 97, type 4 - $230 (lot 26)
Stanley 97, Type 3, - $100 (lot 736)

The 85 with the label I would expect to bring more than $300...

Cheers -

Rob

[Jim Koepke]

The 85 with the label I would expect to bring more than $300...

Collectors go gaga over such things as a little label. Especially when it is all there.

jtk

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

One way to find the value is to look at completed listings on ebay. This also will help with seeing the effects of condition on prices.

Those two look like they are in the range of being desirable to collectors. Being of interest to the passions of collectors will always drive prices higher.

For some the only reason the #97 exists is for its collector value. The modern versions are less likely to suffer damage in use.

jtk

What do you mean by that you wrote about the no 97? are they fragile ?

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

Hi -

From Brown auction last Saturday:

Stanley 85, type 3 - $300 (lot 24)
Stanley 85, type 3 - $270 (lot 199)
Stanley 97, type 4 - $230 (lot 26)
Stanley 97, Type 3, - $100 (lot 736)

The 85 with the label I would expect to bring more than $300...

Cheers -

Rob

Thankyou, that was very helpfull

[Andrew Seemann]

For the price they likely will command, they are probably worth more to a collector than they are to a user. A lot of those "oddball" planes make better collector's items than user planes. The modern replicas tend to be less fragile and often are more functional and better quality.

[Jim Koepke]

What do you mean by that you wrote about the no 97? are they fragile ?

A quote from Patrick Leach's Blood and Gore:



Like the #62, these planes have a tendency for chipping at the leading edge of the bottom casting, directly below the cutter, due to the thinness of the casting there.

He also mentions their collector value:


If you were to use this plane, and forget its value as a collectible,

Surely some folks find a need for this plane. In my past experience, careful application of a chisel can do the same work as a chisel plane.

jtk

[Joe Bailey]

Were it not for the ham-fisted job someone has done on the sidewall castings (coarse sanding, steel wirewheel?), the price might easily top 400 (USD)

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

Joe, is there a way to correct this or has it forever lost its top value?

[Bill Houghton]

What will you use them for, that your current tools won't do? That seems to me to be a factor in their value to you.

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

The 85 im going to flip on ebay if I can get it cheap. The 97 im going to keep if it does'nt go too high

[Joe Bailey]

Joe, is there a way to correct this or has it forever lost its top value?

Personally, I would have to have a look at it in person.
But no, it's no fatal.

You could always offer it up, as is, first.
If it seems to be a problem, then you might choose to address it.

There's no honest way to restore patina (other than the passage of time), but I would rather continue with increasingly finer grits until I had removed the deepest scratches, but stopping when I had basically reproduced the factory "grain". At that point I would continue the treatment onto the sole and any other iron casting.

[Matt Day]

Almost undoubtedly prices will skyrocket when the auction comes to a close and your plan to flip it will get flipped!

About 5 years ago I sold one for $385, and it’s conditjon wasnt quite as good as the one you’re asking about.

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

You were right. It went just below 300$