Dovetailed Steel Parallel Smoothing Plane By Mathieson

A nice, clean example of an Alex Mathieson & Sons dovetailed steel parallel smoother with a particularly nice spur on the rear handle. I make no apologies in stating that I’m a sucker for long, narrow, spurs — even if these are amongst the first things to be damaged on handplanes — so seeing one in pristine condition is always good.

Mathieson was one of the bigger players in the infill plane world, along with Stewart Spiers, Thomas Norris, Edward Preston, Henry Slater & John Holland. These makers combined make up the bulk of the infill planes out there in the marketplace, collections and the workshops of those who are lucky enough to have them.

The overall condition of the Brazilian rosewood infill in this plane, along with the steelwork and gunmetal lever cap, is great. The dovetailing is sound, with no sign of loosening, and the plane is generally very well looked after — showing very little wear or even signs of use. This is the kind of plane that you would consider to be of high collector value.

The Mathieson name has been stamped on the levercap as well as on the toe of the plane (on the front bun). The 2-1/4″ cutting iron is also stamped with the Mathieson mark.

Overall a very desirable infill plane.

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