This next study featuring a European wooden plane – it’s 22 1/2″ in length, with a width of 2 1/8″. Judging by the length, it is a varlope or jointer. It seems to be made of some type of fruitwood and has a blade which is 1 9/16″ in width and a thickness of a little over 1/8″. The blade is rounded, which would indicate some form of scrub plane, however this is not unusual in longer European planes, where the curved edge speeds wood removal.
The plane has the form of a European wooden plane, but is devoid of any trademarks or significant markings – except for a large “1900” stamped on the toe-end of the plane. This is not that unusual, and may signify a non-commercial plane, or that the identification is provided by the markings on the blade.
This plane may be from the manufacturer Peugeot Freres of France, one of the more notable French tool manufacturers. It was founded in 1810 as Peugeot Frères et Jacques Maillard. By 1842 the company had split into smaller companies. One had a trademark of a lion on an arrow, another with the distinctive elephant shown on the above blade. This blade has two names on it: Peugeot-Jackson and Peugeot-Aîné. In 1842 four sons of Jean-Frédéric Peugeot joined four Jackson brothers from England forming “Peugeot Aînés Jackson et Frères”. In 1866 the company changed its name to “Peugeot Jackson et Cie”, Peugeot Aînés in 1877, and to Peugeot et Cie in 1894.
Interestingly it seems like some European plane makers marked the blade with their trademark rather than the plane body. This could be confirmed using catalogs – but they are challenging to find. A good book may be “Les Rabots”, by Pierre Bouillot and Xavier Chatellard, 2010 (ISBN: 9782851011152), but it is written in French and difficult to find.
working by hand 