Found out my grandpa's old hand plane from the 1940s is worth over $400 after a collector at the flea market in Des Moines pointed it out.

I just grabbed it out of his garage thinking it was junk, but the guy said the Stanley Bedrock model with the corrugated sole is actually pretty rare, anyone else have a hidden gem in their toolbox they didn't know about?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo_robinson2520d ago

Hidden gem" is the only kind of treasure I ever find, and it's usually my own misplaced car keys taking three days to turn up. I thought I snagged a decent old wrench set from my dad's shed, turns out it was just rusty and covered in spider eggs. That's a sweet score though, $400 is like a month of decent coffee for me.

elliot_patel20d ago

Holy crap, a corrugated sole Bedrock? No way. That's not just any old plane, that's like the holy grail for hand tool collectors. I've seen those go for way more than $400 if the tote and knob aren't cracked. Your grandpa must have known what he was doing, those things were built like tanks. I'd keep it if I were you, but if you do sell it don't let some flea market guy lowball you.

joel_hall1719d ago

That Bedrock plane is definitely a collector's piece, but have you actually tried using it yet? Those old Bedrocks have a different feel than a standard Bailey pattern, and your grandpa might have picked it for a reason other than just value. I'd give it a test run on a board before you decide anything, just to see if it’s worth keeping or if the collectors can have it.