Holman

W. C. Holman

Plane Maker

A few years ago I bought a collection of planes from another resident of my community here in Florida. He said he bought them in Massachusetts and Maine. Most have since been sold off. I was only interested in the Holman plane. What caught my interest was it was so crudely made.

It is made from beech, 9 ½ long, 3 3/8high and 7/8 inch wide. The blade is marked “W^MASH & C^O“. It has double nicker irons.

The layout lines for the wedge are visible on the left side and for the nicker irons on the bottom. See Fig. 1. The wedge has the compass point and circle marks on both sides and the tip is blunt with two uneven bevels on either side. I looked in ref 1 and could not find any wedge design similar. ¹

The chamfers are flat and have a different width on either side. They are mostly on the side. Also, the chamfers on the nose and heel are of different widths.

The slot for the wedge is off-center and the iron is shaped to fit this. I would estimate the date in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

It is marked “W C HOLMAN”. The mark was not well struck and appears to be from two stamps. See. Fig. 2.

I searched The Directory of American Toolmakers² and found a number of tool makers named Holman but none as a plane maker. Also, no information was found in any Business Directories or newspapers. Census information does not provide any information. If you have any information on this maker please send it to me. If enough is found I will submit another article.

Fig 1. Fig 2.

Fig 3. Fig 4. Fig 5.

References: 3, 109. Back

If you have information to add or comments please email them to me.