So you're getting into antique tool collecting

Planes are the most collected antique tool category, and Hack's book explains how each type works, how to tune one, and what makes an example worth restoring. You'll understand what you're holding at a market, not just what it's worth. The starting point most serious collectors wish they'd found first.

Not a price guide but a beautifully drawn visual dictionary of what craftsmen used before the machine age. Sloane explains what every tool did and why, giving your collection meaning beyond accumulation. A genuinely good read, always in print, and under $15.

The bible for Stanley collectors. Covers the complete type study for every plane, rule, and level: how each hardware generation differs, when it was made, and what condition grades are worth. Keep it in your car. You will use it at every market you visit.

The collector's standard. Water-based, non-toxic, and reusable until depleted. Drop a rusty plane iron in overnight, rinse, dry: rust gone, original metal intact. A gallon handles dozens of tools. This is the right first purchase for any restorer.

A phosphoric acid gel that converts active rust to stable iron phosphate. Brush it on, let it sit 15 minutes, scrub and rinse. Costs half what Evapo-Rust does and works for spot treatment or pieces too large to submerge in a container.

When rust is hiding in screw threads, casting voids, and plane adjuster parts, an ultrasonic cleaner reaches where soaking can't. Fill with water and Evapo-Rust, run a cycle, and come back to clean threads and details. The professional restorer's upgrade.

Two grits in one stone: the 1000 side re-establishes a chipped or neglected edge, the 4000 side refines it to working sharp. Wide enough for most plane irons. The stone most hand-tool woodworkers start on, and the one they keep using for years.

Removes the skill barrier from freehand sharpening. Clamp your chisel or iron in the angle guide and draw it through the diamond stones for consistent geometry every time. Ideal for beginners who struggle to hold a steady angle by feel alone.

The final step that separates sharp from scary sharp. After your waterstone, a few passes on a loaded strop removes the wire edge and polishes the bevel to mirror bright. This is the difference between a tool that cuts and one that glides through wood.