You may ask, what is a rhykenologist ?
Rhykenology is the study of old woodworking planes. A rhykenologist is a person who collects and studies woodworking planes.
It comes from the Greek rhykane, meaning a plane, from which the Latin runcina is derived. Ironically, no Greek woodworking planes have ever been found, but the Romans did have planes. For those interested, there is a great book on Roman woodworking aptly titled Roman Woodworking by Roger B. Ulrich (Yale University Press). (https://workingbyhand.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/what-is-rhykenology/ )
My interest in woodworking planes came from my father. He started the collection and whenever I visited him, I would always go and see what new planes he had found. He also had a small library of books about British and American planes.
When I inherited his collection, I decided that I also needed to catalogue them and learn about where they came from and their history. My first step was developing an Access database for the collection and recording as much information as possible on each plane. Things like country of origin, material they were made from, makers name, estimate of when they were manufactured, type of plane and typical use. To complete this information, I had to do my research. Firstly, I used the books I had inherited. Then I bought more books. But also, being post-2000, the internet became my friend (something my father did not have available to him).
Adding to the collection became a sport for me. Initially there was eBay and antique stores with the occasional flea market. There was a period when the Australian dollar was almost at parity with the $US and I was able to buy a number of planes from the US via eBay, but current currency differences and mailing costs have closed off that option. Over the last few years eBay has not been a happy hunting ground as many of the planes on it are being sold by antique dealers and they are selling at top end prices. But there is the occasional bargain. Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace have become new sources while antique stores are still always worth a visit. And finally, friends and family can be sources.
Woodworking plane collectors often specialise and focus on particular categories or brands. But I don’t follow that pattern and best describe myself as an eclectic collector, looking for anything different. Having said that I have tried to get examples of all planes made by the more common Australian makers. I’m also keen to get hold of unique user made planes.
Like probably most collectors, I have a large number of Stanley planes and was fortunate to have family and friends contribute to buy me a Stanley #1 for my 60th birthday. I try to date and identify the type (changes in design of Stanley planes over time have led to the designation of ‘type’ numbers) of my Stanley planes, but I haven’t looked at getting examples of each type. With respect to bench planes, I now have at least one example of each of the planes numbered 1 to 8, with a 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 as well – I just need a 5 1/4 to complete the bench plane set.
