Bench&Brace

Stanley

Stanley No. 60-1/2 Low Angle Block Plane

The low-angle block plane, and probably the single most useful vintage Stanley you can buy for under fifty dollars. Twelve-degree bed plus a bevel-up iron slices end grain that a standard block plane tears.

  • 1898–2000
  • Block Plane
  • high confidence
Specifications
ModelNo. 60-1/2
Production1898–2000
Sole length6"
Cutter width1-3/8"
Bed angle12 degrees
Mouthadjustable
Bodycast iron, japanned

How to identify it

  • 6 inch body with a narrower 1-3/8 inch iron than the 9-1/2, and a visibly lower, longer ramp from mouth to heel.
  • Adjustable mouth via the front eccentric lever.
  • If you are unsure whether a block plane is low angle, look at it from the side: the low-angle bed runs almost flat, the standard bed is obviously steeper.
Photograph needed: Stanley No. 60-1/2 Low Angle Block Plane - overall view, plus a close-up of the toe and bed markings
No image is published here until its rights are cleared. Sourcing policy.

Buying and using

Buy for the mouth. A 60-1/2 whose adjustable toe piece is seized or whose mouth has been filed open has lost the thing that makes it good.

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.

MakerCalledMade
StanleyNo. 9-1/21873–2000
StanleyNo. 181888–1950
StanleyNo. 951911–1970
StanleyNo. 931898–1970

Every size, every maker

What it is worth

  • user / incomplete $20–$40
  • complete, honest wear $45–$85
  • excellent, pre-war $95–$190

Estimated USD range as of 2026-Q1, from a sample of about 180 sales. manually filtered sold listings Confidence: medium.

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

Others in this family