Post War Norris A5
Post War ( when most refer to Post War as to Norris Planes, the reference is to Post WWII ) A5's have a number of features that distinguish them from Prewar A5's. First, in prewar models, the sides were dovetailed together using steel plates. In contrast, the sides of the post war models were welded to the bottom. Since the dovetailing was so well done, it is extremely unlikely you would see the difference in a photo, so I have not included that in the table below. You can click on the image to the right to enlarge it.
Screw on the Front Bun
In terms of dating, the easiest give away is a screw on the top of the front bun. In prior models, including pre and post war models, steel pins were inserted into the sides of the plane to keep the front bun secured, then filed flush so they are nearly invisible. If there is a screw in the top of the front bun it is not a Pre War model . It has been suggested that the screw on the top was introduced towards the end of production, many of the post wars do not have the screw.
Post War Norris planes were not made of rosewood, and instead were beech with a very dark brown finished referred to a ebonized beech. It may be hard to see the finish depending on the picture, but things that tell you it was post war include an extremely light wood - that is the natural beech which shows after someone has stripped the dark finish, worn areas showing a white wood, as in the example - usually the white areas are on the sides right behind the blade. If you get high quality photos, even is there is no light wood, you may see alligatoring of the varnish finish - again a sign of post war plane.
This is the standard stamp that appears on the Norris London Post War A5. If you go to the pre war page, you will see that pre wars had a number of different stamps or logos, but none were exactly the same. As best as I can tell, the earliest prewar models had the same words "Norris " and "London " in opposing arcs, but it is a different font and is much higher up the lever cap, starting near the neck just below the screw. Later prewar models had the same words and a model number ( such as 5 or 6 ) , and even later prewars have the phrase "patent adjustable" in an arc right below the word "London" In the picture below, the plane on the right is a prewar 5, no number, just the phrase Norris London, the plane to the left is a post war A5.
Ebonized Infill
Stamp
Other Signs.
Blade Width
Type of Adjuster
The post war II smoothers were only offered with blades 2 1/8 inches wide. Prewar could be obtained with that size, as well as 2 inch, or 2 1/4. The width of the body was different for the different sized blades
The post war planes had an adjuster to the adjuster. If you took out the blade and looked at where the stem of the adjuster passed through the threaded swivel you would see a very small set screw. In theory, as the adjuster wore down, that set screw could be turned in to take up any slack. This was not available prewar. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
The cap of the adjuster does not have a patent number or date on post war adjusters. Some caps are plain brass, some show that the stem has been inserted into the cap and also shows evidence of pins. I am not sure which is earlier of these methods. Prewar caps are often broached, though not always, and usually contain patent numbers.
