Blanchard Clarence - Antique Trader Tools Price Guide

UPDATED WITH ALL NEW LISTINGS AND COLOR PHOTOS

Antique Trader
TOOLS

PRICE GUIDE

Third Edition

Clarence Blanchard

2009 Krause Publications, Inc.,
a subsidiary of F+W Media, Inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, withoutpermission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quotebrief passages in a critical article or review to be printed in a magazine ornewspaper, or electronically transmitted on radio, television, or the Internet.

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700 East State Street Iola, WI 54990-0001
715-445-2214 888-457-2873
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Cover photography by Wally Farrington

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009937508

ISBN-13: 978-1-4402-0553-8
ISBN-10: 1-4402-0553-1
eISBN: 978-1-44021-949-8

Designed by Heidi Bittner-Zastrow
Edited by Dan Brownell

Printed in China

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Contents

Listings

Acknowledgments

The publisher wishes to thank Brown Auction Services for its valuable contribution to this book. Brown Auction Services and its semi-annual International Antique Tool Auction holds many world record antique tool prices and is the leader in the antique tool auction business.

This Sandusky Tool Co. 1876 Centennial center-wheel plow plane sold for $114,400 at Browns 24th International Antique Tool Auction, achieving the world record sale price for an antique tool.

For more information about International Antique Tool Auctions, contact:

Brown Auction Services

27 Fickett Road

Pownal, ME 04069

(800) 248-8114

www.finetoolj.com

Introduction

It has been only six years since the first edition of Antique Trader Tools PriceGuide was printed, but it continues to amaze me how much the market has changed. When the first edition of this book was published, the world record for a tool at auction was $32,900. When the second edition was published in 2007, the record had jumped to $114,400. I wish I could say the record was broken again with this edition, but it has not happened yet. That doesnt mean, however, that a lot has not happened since the last printing. Today it is not uncommon for a tool to sell for more than $10,000 and often much more. In fact, our auctions routinely have several tools that sell for low- to mid- five figures. These higher prices are no longer the exceptions they were just 10 years ago.

Which tools bring the big money today? Two trends lead the way. First, patented items in general, and planes in particular, consistently bring big bucks. If you can trace an item to a patent, it adds history and value. The second hot area is more general. Condition by itself can add or take away more value than any other single factor. It has become so important that collectors now use the term dead mint for those items in the top two percent of condition. In our fall 2008 sale, a Stanley No. 1 plane in good+ condition brought $880; the same plane in fine+ condition brought $2,090. Thats a big difference, and the plane in fine+ was still not in the dead mint category.

Condition has become so important to collecting that I have added a chapter specifically on evaluating Stanley tool condition. Grading Stanley tools is a good way to get a feel for tool condition. The quality of manufacture that Stanley maintained over many years sets a consistent base for comparing wear and tear from use or poor storage. Once you have an understanding of Stanley condition, it is much easier to apply that knowledge to other tool groups, where the ratings can be more subjective.

Another area just now regaining interest is wooden planes and molders. Once the backbone of tool collecting, wooden planes have been a bit soft in the market for a while. Recently I have seen signs of reviving interest and an upward trend in prices. Complex molders and rare makers have just started to go up in value, and we could see some excitement over the next few years.

With this edition, as with the earlier ones, all of the tools listed sold for the prices shown and have not been listed before. The prices listed are real, not estimates or opinions. Some of the tools shown are rare and therefore expensive. Many other tools are more common and show up more often in sales and collections. Each year we get calls from people who have found items like the ones in this book. Sometimes we sell these items for good money; other times the finder makes them the centerpieces of their new collection. Either way, it all starts with the knowledge that an accurate price guide offers.

~Clarence Blanchard

Focusing a Collection

So many tools exist in todays world that many tool collectors focus on one category. Some of the most popular categories to collect fall into the following general areas:

Function

Focusing on finding tools with a particular function is a popular way to specialize a collection. Some collectors seek out wooden planes, for example, while others hunt down wrenches, and some look only for hammers.

Craft or Trade

Others collect tools of a certain craft or trade: cooper, tinsmith, and wheelwright tools are popular examples of that type of collection. Many collectors in this group can be seen at demonstrations and craft fairs showing how their tools are used and demonstrating the methods used by the old-time trade person.

Personal Connection

Many collectors look for tools with certain names or connected to certain locations. Among these subcategories are particular family names or groups of names with historical connections, and hometowns, states, counties, or other special places. This group of collectors is quite large, with many having a hometown or my name collection in addition to their other areas of interest.