Slater Malleable Cast Iron Shoulder Plane

This is one of those “stock-in-trade” infill planes by Slater of Clerkenwell. The style of shoulder plane that the maker is well known for. No frills, simple lines and great workmanship. While some collectors and users may say that the mouths are too wide on many Slater planes (many cast planes for that matter), the criticism is often unwarranted.

While quite a few shoulder planes are just horrible when it comes to the width of the mouth, especially some user-mades, the fact that some of these planes may have been “opened out” and widened by previous owners is often overlooked. I have seen many planes, not just shoulders, that have suffered from this fate. Unlike bench planes, which have the cutting iron bevel down and can therefore be “padded out” if necessary, planes which have the cutting iron bevel up, such as shoulders, rabbets and chariots, aren’t as fortunate. A fine mouth is a definite advantage with these planes.

This plane measures 8″ in length and 1-1/4″ wide and comes with the original Marples cutting iron. The heel has been stamped with the “H SLATER, MEREDITH ST, CLERKENWELL, LONDON” mark. The infill is in near perfect condition and the wedge is also fine and undamaged, indicating a very careful owner or one that might not have used this plane very much at all. Unfortunately the mouth is a little wide for my liking, but otherwise serviceable.

Nonetheless a clean example of a Slater shoulder plane.

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