Sargent No. 408 Bench Plane

How to identify it

• 8 inch sole, 1-3/4 inch iron.
• The model number is 4 followed by the sole length in inches, so the last two digits and a tape measure should agree.
• 'SARGENT' cast into the bed or lever cap, with New Haven, Connecticut named on many examples.
• 'VBM' cast into the lever cap brackets the plane to roughly the 1910s and early 1920s.

Photograph needed: Sargent No. 408 Bench Plane - overall view, plus a close-up of the toe and bed markings

Buying and using

Sargent castings and machining are a fair match for Stanley's of the same period, and the price is not. If you want pre-war American quality without pre-war American prices, this is where it is. Check the lever cap for VBM, which is the most useful single dating mark on the brand.

The same size from other makers

These do the same job at the same size. Parts do not interchange between makers, but the shaving does not know the difference - and where one maker commands a collector premium, another usually does not.

Every size, every maker

What it is worth

• user / incomplete $11–$24
• complete, honest wear $26–$48
• excellent, VBM era $52–$96

Estimated USD range as of 2026-Q1, from a sample of about 30 sales. manually filtered sold listings; Sargent trades at a persistent discount to the Stanley equivalent Confidence: low.

These are researched estimates for a private sale in average light, not an appraisal. Condition, completeness and type move a price further than any of these bands do.

Sources

• reference-site
  Patrick Leach's Blood & Gore (Stanley plane model-by-model commentary) — Patrick Leach
• book
  Dictionary of American Hand Tools — Alvin Sellens