That $5 rusted hand plane I passed on turned out to be worth $400

I saw a beat up old hand plane at a garage sale on Maple Street last summer. Looked like it had been sitting in a damp shed for decades, all crusted with rust. Guy wanted $5 for it and I laughed, told him it was junk. My coworker who restores woodworking tools saw a photo later and nearly fell over. Turns out it was a pre-war Stanley #4 with the original iron still intact. He found the same one online going for $400. Now I buy every crusty tool I see under $10, my garage is starting to look like a museum of questionable decisions. Anyone else ever get burned passing on an ugly tool?

2 comments

2 Comments

john_murphy9d ago

Oh man. My buddy Dave found a $200 saw in a junk pile.

-1

rivera.jake9d ago

My buddy Tony pulled a table saw out of someone's trash last spring. Looked like junk at first. Dirty, rusty, blade was all gummed up. He spent a weekend cleaning it. Got it running like new. That thing's worth at least 250 bucks now.