Antique Stanley Pullshave

At the Picadilly Flea Market today (Eugene, OR) I scored this Stanley tool- the seller called it a pull scraper, but I believe it is probably better known as a pullshave. Veritas and Stanley both make modern versions of this tool, but I couldn't seem to find any pictures or references to this old Stanley model, presumably antique.


I know furniture builders use this type of tool to hollow out the inner curve of a chair seat, and wooden boatbuilders would also find it useful for all of the inner curves they work with. I am thinking it could come in handy for luthiery, either in carving necks where I use a spokeshave quite a bit, or in hollowing out the inside of an archtop soundboard.


The modern versions offer an improvement in the addition of a handle above the blade- this would give more control of the cut. At any rate, I think once I tune it up it should be a joy to use! The handle is very comfortable and feels massive- like it has the right mass to balance a steady pull.

I also think its cool that at least two tools in daily use- the vegetable peeler and the shaving razor- operate on the exact same principle. It somehow makes using these tools that much more comfortable.