B57-458 BENCH PLANE. Hardt Patent. Louis Hardt of Yuba City, CA, patented this thing in 1893. It featured a nose piece that slides on an inclined plane to adjust the depth of cut. The patent shows a wooden plane, but the very few known examples are all cast iron. This is the 11-1/2" smoothing plane size, identical to the one shown in figure 263 of PTAMPIA I. Like all known examples, has a marked Sargent cutter but the cap iron has "Hardt" cast on the undersigned. Some very tiny chips on the tote and knob but overall a very nice example of one of the holy grails of patented plane collectors. Fine 3000-6000 **All bids must be placed by end of day Friday, October 30, 2020. Auction takes place live-in-person at the Wyndham Garden, York, PA, at 9:00am, Saturday, October 31. Successfully placed bids will be found under My Bids. Current high bids may be obtained by emailing finetoolj@gmail.com or calling (800) 248-8114**