Stanley Plane Identification: How to Identify Antique Stanley Bailey Hand Plane Age and Type?

By Joshua T. Farnsworth

Below you will find a tool for Stanley plane identification, specifically dating Stanley planes and identifying the type of your Stanley Bailey woodworking bench hand planes. There are other good sites for dating stanley planes (like Patrick’s Blood and Gore), but I’ve tried to make my stanley plane type study the most clear and understandable resource, with plenty of photos to help you understand what you’re looking for. You can also download my free Stanley plane identification PDF chart here. Please be aware: some antique Stanley planes that you buy will be harlequins, or conglomerates of parts from different years, so keep that in mind when listing a Stanley hand plane for sale. Also, stanley type studies like this are most accurate for No. 4 Stanley Bailey Smoothing Planes. This tool does not work for the Stanley Bedrock planes or transitional planes. And it’s important to understand that the type number refers to the manufacturing release, not to the model number. Here is a list of the types and dates of the Stanley planes:

• Stanley Type 1 Handplanes: 1867-1869
• Stanley Type 2 Handplanes: 1869-1872
• Stanley Type 3 Handplanes: 1872-1873
• Stanley Type 4 Handplanes: 1874-1884
• Stanley Type 5 Handplanes: 1885-1888
• Stanley Type 6 Handplanes: 1888-1892
• Stanley Type 7 Handplanes: 1893-1899
• Stanley Type 8 Handplanes: 1899-1902
• Stanley Type 9 Handplanes: 1902-1907
• Stanley Type 10 Handplanes: 1907-1909
• Stanley Type 11 Handplanes: 1910-1918
• Stanley Type 12 Handplanes: 1919-1924
• Stanley Type 13 Handplanes: 1925-1928
• Stanley Type 14 Handplanes: 1929-1930
• Stanley Type 15 Handplanes: 1931-1932
• Stanley Type 16 Handplanes: 1933-1941
• Stanley Type 17 Handplanes: 1942-1945
• Stanley Type 18 Handplanes: 1946-1947
• Stanley Type 19 Handplanes: 1948-1961
• Stanley Type 20 Handplanes: 1962-1967

“How Many Patent Dates do you see behind the handplane frog?”