TC25-342 CAST IRON FORE PLANE. Zoar Community. 16" heavy cast body, 2-1/4" Buck Bros. cutter, beech tote and knob, low iron strike button in front, corrugated sole. One small chip from end of tote and some surface rust. Resembles the type of plane shown in PTAMPIA II, Fig. 4, which were reportedly manufactured in Zoar, OH. The Society of Separatists of Zoar, Ohio, was formed in 1817 by a group of religious separatists from Germany, and functioned as a communal society until 1898. Some unknown member of the society invented these corrugated sole iron fore planes, similar in structure to the planes patented in 1827 by Hazard Knowles that were the earliest form of metal plane in America. A handful of these planes are known, and some, unlike this one, have holes through the casting which may have accommodated an auxiliary handle. From the collection of Harold Unruh. Good+ 1500-3000