Shaw & Co? Help please

[jimi43]

Without giving too much away....I have a plane iron I need to identify.

It's attached to a plane soon to be revealed but to continue my research....I need to identify the maker of this iron first:

So far I have found Marshall Shaw & Co. Wolverhampton....but not sure about this.

I expect this iron to date from the early 1800s

Any ideas guys and gals?

Cheers

Jimi

 

[DonMc]

Hi Jimi,

The surname Shaw appears in connection with a number of firms in Sheffield from the latter part of the 18th century onwards. Firms such as Thomas Shaw (1787), Shaw & Cutler (1817), Shaw, Jobson & Co. (1817), Shaw & Marshall (1797 - 1822), Shaw Marshall & Co. (1818, 1825 - 1828) and Shaw & Oates (1833 - 1837).

However, the firm which seems to most closely fit the mark on your plane iron is Joseph Shaw & Co. on Green Lane, which appears in an 1805 listing. If that is correct, then your iron is, in fact, early 19th century. Hope this helps.

Don McConnell
Eureka Springs, AR

 

[Richard T]

Oooo you tease you ...

 

[Jacob]

There are a lot of Shaws around the Sheffield area. One Albert Shaw Butler was my grandfather and his father was a blacksmith/tool maker in the area, so it could be him! That's all I know, I ought to research it a bit more.

 

[bugbear]

Any ideas guys and gals?

Cheers

Jimi

You may be able to clean the name a little by using a soft wire brush (brass)
and a sort of circular scrubbing motion.

I also had success re-using a trick from the coin world, at Pete Maddex's suggestion.

tiny-success-t72861.html

BugBear

 

[jimi43]

Cheers Don...some interesting leads there and I shall be following them up. Much appreciated. It would fit that the iron was made around the early to mid 1800s so it would seem we may be in the right direction.

Yes Jacob...I should think that there is a high probability that you are related to one or other of the old masters given your likes and dislikes....now wouldn't that be an interesting scenario!

BB...yes mate..just a grabbed picture as I only got the plane yesterday...I managed to get more subdued lighting on it....

...but as yet, I have not had a chance to clear out the crud...but I think this shows it quite clearly.

The thread will be up in due course...I need as much help as I can get on this one! Hope you enjoyed the sneak preview!

Cheers all

Jimi

 

[MMUK]

That looks like "SHAWMCo" as in Shaw, Marshall & Co. to me

 

[jimi43]

That looks like "SHAWMCo" as in Shaw, Marshall & Co. to me

Ok...will go and clean it out a bit....

Ok...just cleaned it and it's no clearer but a bit of jiggery pokery in Paint Artist and newspaper effect makes it quite clear...if you stand over the other side of the room!!

It's definitely Shaw & Co....you can even see the little dot they put under the "o" of Co for the abbreviation.

Jimi

 

[bugbear]

BB...yes mate..just a grabbed picture as I only got the plane yesterday...I managed to get more subdued lighting on it....

Who did the over-cleaning with coarse SiC in the first shot - I hope it was the seller!

BugBear

 

[jimi43]

Who did the over-cleaning with coarse SiC in the first shot - I hope it was the seller!

BugBear

Her dad I think!

:shock:

Jimi

 

[bugbear]

Who did the over-cleaning with coarse SiC in the first shot - I hope it was the seller!

BugBear

Her dad I think!

:shock:

Jimi

The art now is to remove those deep scratches without ending up with a new looking polished surface - tricky.

Still, I've seen worse - quite a few people seem to think that the best way to remove rust from a spade or shovel is a 9" angle grinder. :shock:

BugBear

 

[jimi43]

Who did the over-cleaning with coarse SiC in the first shot - I hope it was the seller!

BugBear

Her dad I think!

:shock:

Jimi

The art now is to remove those deep scratches without ending up with a new looking polished surface - tricky.

Still, I've seen worse - quite a few people seem to think that the best way to remove rust from a spade or shovel is a 9" angle grinder. :shock:

BugBear

At the end of the day...it's a plane iron.....it's a nice old plane iron but an edge tool none the less.

Had I been wanting this to put on a shelf with a number on it in a catalogue, I should have been most annoyed but, as with all my tools...this will be a user...and a fine user it is too.

Usually...these old planes have lost their original iron many moons back...but I think this is an original. It was probably covered in rust and the previous owner like most laymen...gives it that old wire brush treatment. A shame but not the end of the world.

It shouldn't take too long to patinate...of that I have no doubt.

Jim

 

[bugbear]

It was probably covered in rust and the previous owner like most laymen...gives it that old wire brush treatment.

I'd guess 60 grit SiC me'self.

BugBear

 

[jimi43]

It was probably covered in rust and the previous owner like most laymen...gives it that old wire brush treatment.

I'd guess 60 grit SiC me'self.

BugBear

Probably.

Any idea on who made it..?

Jim

 

[toolsntat]

BPM2 has a SHAW & Co blade maker with no more info apart from it was in an ARTHINGTON plane and pictures the same mark as yours.

ARTHINGTON Daniel Manchester and his son had dates 1808/56

Andy

 

[jimi43]

(homer)

DOH!

I didn't think of looking in the back of BPM3 to see if they were just an iron maker! Thanks for that...it's in mine staring me right in the face Andy!!

That's the difference between a true tool expert and an amateur!!

Given that we have a rather tenuous link then to ARTHINGTON of MANCHESTER....who did actually make infill mitre planes apparently, although as yet I have to find a picture....we can probably be safe in dating it to the early part of the 19th C

There are only two styles I can find which come close to this shape, the long toe, the bridge/wedge shape and the general size and these are:



...(click on picture to go to page) this Gabriel which has "Gabriel" on the inner throat...discussed in Joel's most excellent blog in TOOLS FOR WORKING WOOD....and following the reference to "ROBERT TOWELL" therein...this example by the same...



....(CLICK for DAEDwORKs BLOG) in Raney's excellent blog.

This one is Harry....

There is general comment about Robert Towell making the planes for others such as Christopher Gabriel who would then put their mark on them. Sadly I can find no hidden "Gabriel" mark on the inside of the throat

Thanks again for the kick Andy...I promise to look at my library more closely next time!

Jimi

 

[Mr_P]

From the Harry thread

http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/aucti ... t-21513034

A rare 10"" d/t steel mitre plane by ARTHINGTON Manchester with protruding toe and heel with rosewood infill and wedge held by cupids bow bridge, the sole unusually thick with orig extra mouth section creating a fine cut (illustrated Russell fig 875) wedge worn o/w G+

£330

 

[jimi43]

From the Harry thread

http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/aucti ... t-21513034

A rare 10"" d/t steel mitre plane by ARTHINGTON Manchester with protruding toe and heel with rosewood infill and wedge held by cupids bow bridge, the sole unusually thick with orig extra mouth section creating a fine cut (illustrated Russell fig 875) wedge worn o/w G+

£330

Sorry mate...I didn't connect the two names immediately and thanks for reminding me.

That brings it a bit closer to identification but I note the bridge is more fancy...which I think was a trend as the design became more mature so perhaps this example in the Stanley auction was from a later part of their reign.

The long toe in the front of Harry is also interesting....I found it very handy for keeping the plane flat and I could see this useful in levelling marquetry work...which I believe was the initial use of these "mitre" planes.

Jim

 

[Mr_P]

David Barron has an American one with a very straight forward bridge dating from 1842 +

http://davidbarronfurniture.blogspot.co ... plane.html

So that's 50 ish years of production on both sides of the Atlantic.

So I guess everyman and his dog who had the ability to make a London Mitre was doing so.

Here's my iffy Gabriel

Bill Carter said it definitely wasn't made by a man in a shed and he's never seen one like it.
So it's either a special made by Gabriel for someone wanting a very heavy front end or it's a very professionally made copy.

No makers marks so we will never know.