After finishing my series on Soviet-origin planes, I realized that I may have overlooked one more candidate hiding in my collection. This little block plane has a set of markings that strongly suggest it, too, came from somewhere within the former Soviet sphere.
Description of the Plane
This is a compact block plane with a rather distinctive construction:
Construction: Folded steel sole and sides, with a front knob and rear infill made from plastic designed to mimic bone
Length: 5½” (14 cm)
Width: 1⅜” (3.4 cm)
Blade: Two blades included—one flat and one convex
Blade Angle: 45°
Blade Width: 1 3⁄16″ (3 cm)
Mouth Opening: ¼” (7 mm)
The Markings
The plane has cast markings on both sides of the rear infill.
On the left-hand side is a symbol I’ve not yet been able to identify through any of my usual reference sources.
On the right-hand side, the marking is clearly Cyrillic. That alone puts its origins in the realm of countries using the Cyrillic alphabet—Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, or Montenegro. In other words, there’s a strong chance this little plane is indeed of Soviet origin.
Decoding the Cyrillic Markings
Out of curiosity, I fed the markings into ChatGPT, not expecting much. To my surprise, it returned a plausible and detailed interpretation. Here’s the essence of what it suggested:
What the Cyrillic Markings Likely Mean
“РД-1” (RD-1)
This appears to be a model designation, following a pattern common in Soviet tool manufacturing.
- Р → Рубанок (“plane”)
- Д → Often used for деревообрабатывающий (“wood-processing”)
- 1 → Model number
So РД-1 likely translates to something like “Woodworking Plane, Model 1.”
This same naming style shows up in many confirmed Soviet tools, such as:
- СР-2, СР-3 (planing machines)
- РС-2 (hand plane models)
“Ц2Р” (Ts-2R)
This marking is probably a production or workshop code, not a word.
- Ц → Цех (“workshop” or “factory unit”)
- 2 → Workshop number
- Р → Often indicates “hand tool” or repeats the plane designation category
So Ц2Р roughly means “Workshop 2 – Hand Tool Division.”
This style of coding is extremely typical on Soviet-era tools, whether planes, hammers, chisels, or saws, from factories such as Sestroretsk, ZIK, VIZ, Minsk, Kharkov, and Novosibirsk.
Whether or not I ever pin down the mystery symbol on the opposite side, the Cyrillic markings alone make a strong case: this modest little block plane is almost certainly another survivor from the Soviet tool industry.
If anyone out there has seen similar markings or knows more about these models, I’d love to hear from you!