# 4Most Planes



## Chrisk1970 (Oct 20, 2014)

Hey there everybody. Does anyone have any experience with 4Most handplanes? I happened upon one that resembles a No 5 jack plane with a corrugated sole. I bought it, it is a great size for my planned bench build and it was under $35 n decent shape. Needs restoration but appears to be pretty solid. Anyways, I ask because it is older and I have never heard of the manufacturer. I assume it to be a homeowners type plane but would like to find some history on the tool and company prior to restoration but other than a question on this forum I cannot seem to locate any. Ore information! Any help would be allreciated! Chris


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Stanley and other makers built a lot of hardware
and department store branded planes. It's likely
one of those.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Pics would help. If it is a case of being sourced from one of the big manufacturers, as Loren mentions, then looking at the design and construction of certain elements can give clues as to who the actual maker was.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Yup, I got one.
One of the dead give-aways of selecting planes from the used market is the flat-sided tote. My 4Most has it, and with that it falls into the category of low-quality generic planes as Loren suggests. The contour of the side profile of the tote resembles the Pexto, Parplus, Great Neck and later Corsairs, and other utilitarian planes of the 1940's-'60s. Somebody's gotta know where these all came from, but they are definitely not planes of any significance in today's workshop. 
This example has at least a cast iron frog, most of those from the handplane basket of deplorables was born with a stamped steel tote.



















My suggestion? Develop your restoration skills, rust removal, sharpening techniques etc on this plane. Who knows, it might turn out to be your preferred user plane. If not, you at least haven't wrecked an heirloom!
There's little collector value, even to me, a person who likes oddball planes.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

According to PTAMPIA, 4-Most planes were a product of "Hardware House", NYC, from 1930-1950 and were manufactured by Sargent. Hope this helps.
Probably independent retailers like Mom & Pop hardware stores could retail these as a budget alternative to the big names.


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## Chrisk1970 (Oct 20, 2014)

Wow! Thanks for the quick response guys! I really appreciate the input and it is clearly no Bedrock but it's seems to be the perfect tool to restore!


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## Chrisk1970 (Oct 20, 2014)

Sorry, I forgot to post a picture of this guy….


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## MrMark1946 (Dec 10, 2020)

I'm in the process of restoring a 4Most #3. I haven't quite gotten the sole as flat as I would like but I've used it to joint and flatten a small piece of scrap and it's not a bad user. It sure is a bargain basement item. The tote and handle are pine (I guess) and the lateral adjuster riveted on the frog which stinks but everything else: frog, iron , cap iron and lever cap are pretty reasonable quality for the time. I think I,m going to use it as scrub.


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