Bench&Brace

Identification

Which Block Plane Is This? A Field Identification Guide

Bed angle, mouth adjustment and lever cap type separate almost every Stanley block plane. A short decision tree that gets you to a model number.

  • updated 2026-02-14
  • 3 min read
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Stanley made dozens of block planes and gave them numbers that follow no visible logic. A 9-1/2 and a 60-1/2 look near enough identical in a phone photo and do different jobs; a 110 and a 220 are almost the same tool with different numbers.

Three questions separate nearly all of them.

Question 1: What is the bed angle?

Look at the plane from the side and follow the ramp the iron lies on.

  • Standard angle (about 20 degrees): the ramp climbs noticeably from the mouth.
  • Low angle (about 12 degrees): the ramp runs almost flat, and the whole plane looks longer and leaner at the front.

Once you have compared the two side by side, you will never need to measure. Low angle means the 60-series and the 65: better on end grain, and generally more wanted.

Question 2: Does the mouth adjust?

Look at the front of the plane for a small eccentric lever, usually just behind the front knob. Turning it slides the toe piece forward and back, opening or closing the mouth.

An adjustable mouth is worth paying for. A tight mouth is most of what stops tear-out in difficult grain, and a fixed-mouth plane gives you no way to recover one that has been filed open by a previous owner.

Question 3: What kind of lever cap?

  • Plain cap with a screw or a cam.
  • Knuckle joint: a hinged, nickel-plated two-part cap that folds flat and locks over centre. Comfortable in the palm, and unmistakable.

The knuckle cap makes no difference to how the plane cuts. It costs more anyway.

The decision table

BedMouthCapLengthModel
StandardAdjustablePlain6"No. 9-1/2
StandardAdjustablePlain7"No. 15
StandardAdjustableKnuckle6"No. 18
StandardAdjustableKnuckle7"No. 19
LowAdjustablePlain6"No. 60-1/2
LowAdjustableKnuckle7"No. 65
LowAdjustablePlain14"No. 62 (a jack, not a block plane)
StandardFixedPlain7"No. 220
StandardFixedPlain7-1/2"No. 110
—FixedScrew cap5-1/2"No. 102 (no adjuster) or No. 103 (with adjuster)
—FixedScrew cap3-1/2"No. 101, or No. 100 if it has a curled tail

Measure the sole with a tape before you commit. The difference between a 9-1/2 and a 15 is one inch, and photographs lie about scale constantly.

The oddities worth knowing

No. 140 — a skewed iron and a removable side plate, so it doubles as a rabbet plane. If the side plate is missing, and it usually is, the plane is worth a fraction of a complete one and the plate is effectively unobtainable.

No. 95 — has a fixed right-angle side that acts as its own fence. Not really a block plane at all: it is an edge trimmer, and nothing squares a narrow edge faster.

No. 9 — a ten-inch cabinetmaker's block plane with a detachable side handle. Both scarce and expensive, and the handle is usually gone.

No. 62 — appears in block plane discussions because it is bevel-up with a low bed, but it is a fourteen-inch jack plane. Check the mouth area carefully in raking light: the casting is thin there and cracked examples are common and worth far less.

Which one to buy

If you own no block plane: a 60-1/2. Low angle, adjustable mouth, cheap, everywhere.

If you already have one and want a second: a 9-1/2 for the standard angle, or a 65 if you want the nicest one to hold.

If you are buying at a flea market and cannot tell what you have: check the mouth adjuster works and the sole is not badly pitted at the front. Everything else on a block plane is either cosmetic or fixable in an evening.

Sources