STANLEY 55mm Flat 151 Spokeshave with Adjustable Blade and Twin Thumbscrews, 1-12-0151

Excellent spokeshave and good value for the money. Despite some apparently dissenting reviews this is the genuine Stanley product: no it is not shrink-wrapped or 'carded'. Stanley shaves never were: I've been selling them for 25 years until a few years ago and the product supplied was exactly as expected based on my experience. The blade needs honing before use, as is the case with all edge tools. Likewise it needs setting correctly for ease of use and effective cutting. If you don't know who to do these things, then check up in a decent book or verified on-line source, but please don't blame the product if you haven't bothered to learn how to use it. It's a tool and needs skill to both set up and use to best effect - but it isn't magic. It can be learned and the tool will be a joy to use once you have.

Works well, it’s a good piece of kit for a very good price. It does work well but not right out the box. My ones iron was was a bit chipped and wasn’t very sharp so it needed a good sharpen. The foot/base is good but I did need to lap it flat a bit first. It’s a solid and simple tool though so with a little TLC out the pack it’s a great bargain that will do the job well and last years of use.

Excellent tool at a great price. Definitely genuine - stamped on the casting and the blade. I was a toolmaker in my youth and these are made to a very high standard. I am into making wooden walking poles at the moment, and this is great for my needs. I did consider buying an vintage one and restoring it, but at this price why bother. It could possibly use a slight honing, but pretty sharp as it is.

You only know it is a Stanley by the paper label. Looks identical to Chinese versions a fraction of the price. I suspect they are made in the same factory. Sad to see great brands from the past sink down this route...

Great tool that I use with some of my wood turning projects

This is not a premium tool, a premium spokeshave will cost £60-180, that said it is one of the better budget spokeshaves. The base is unpainted which makes a huge difference, and the adjustment is pretty easy. Like almost all spokehaves (and I'm pretty sure 100% of all budget spokeshaves) it does not come sharp enough to use and WILL require some sharpening, go on youtube to see how to do that because if you aren't capable of getting a really good edge then any budget spokeshave is going to be a problem. I can see that some people have questioned if this is a fake product and said there is only a sticker on it but there is a pretty clear No151 embossed on the base which is the stanley model number... also this isn't being sold by a 3rd party this is amazon stock and I'm sure amazon are buying from legit sources. I think the problem is that when you watch a woodworker use one they make it look easy and you don't see how much they had to prep the blade, or how they adjusted the blade on a corner angle of wood to get it just right. Don't expect to take any spokeshave at this pricepoint out of the box, set the adjusters and use it most of the time you needd to grind the paint off the base and you will always need to sharpen it.

I am that guy who thought he’d buy cheaper tools as there won't be that much difference, they all look alike. This is my fifth spokeshave, which compared to many isn’t a lot, and my experience is limited. Because of that lack of experience I’ve always bought cheaper than Stanley thinking there isn’t much difference. My first was almost a direct copy of the flat spokeshave I'm now reviewing, which I like but it is tiny and difficult to adjust precisely. I have three from a fairly well know company for making useable cheap tools. Again I liked them but the blade needed stropping frequently or you’d have to do a full sharpen, though even a strop can take five to ten minutes depending how temperamental the spokeshave was going to be getting it re-setup. But if these tools are 'OK' is it worth spending another eight quid on a Stanley? The answer is a most definite yes! To begin with it only took me about five minutes to 'flatten' the sole and another five get the blade ready for use. It’s very easy to adjust and the mechanism works exactly as you’d expect. The blade remains sharp and I used it all morning on Sapele which is a relatively hard wood. Even though the copies try to make the shape tool they just don’t feel as comfortable or for want of a better word as intuitive as the Stanley. Somehow its balance feels better to me and I was taken totally by surprise by how different it feels. If like me you’re a newbie and inexperience with how a spokeshave should feel in your hand I strongly suggest the Stanley, you won't regret it.

Decent price

J'en suis vraiment contente, il m'a rendu de bons services.

Herramienta solida y con peso, de materiales nobles y bien construida. Cumple su funcion correctamente. Para poder comenzar a usarla bien, toca afilar bien la cuchilla. La verdad que en muchos productos, la marca Stanley esta dejando un poco que desear en cuanto a la calidad de fabricacion ... pero con este Bastren en especial no tengo ninguna queja. Es una buena herramienta que estara muchisimo tiempo en mi taller. Recomendable.

Recieved in very good time and condition, but the planer it self needed about 2 hours in removing excess metal and tuning to be ready for use. It is expected from Stanley to be more perfect than that. After tuning it is very efficient and satisfactory.

The spokeshave is completely satisfactory. All it needed was a little sharpening.

I purchased 2 of these spokeshaves and both were in excellent condition. They were basically without fault and a genuine Stanley product.