Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - September 2, 1984
By Susie Dewey

Spokeshave put finishing touches on wood works

The spokeshave displayed in the Pioneer exhibit in the Guy Stantz Room of the Vigo County Historical Museum, 1411 S. Sixth St., is an old and respected woodworking tool that is still listed in tool catalogs today.

Today's stainless steel tool is the descendant of the earlier wooden model at the museum. Many hands have held the two-handled device and the honest palm sweat has discolored the finish.

A spokeshave is a type of wood plane, a drawing knife, used to shape curved or concave surfaces. The wooden body can be adjusted to make a coarser or finer cut. Two screws loosen the blade to permit it to be manually adjusted. A slight tap on the blade will help adjust it. The handles permit the tool to be guided more accurately than an ordinary plane. Today the spokeshave is found in sophisticated wood working shops, but in pioneer times, any well-equipped farm had a spokeshave. When the individual farmer built his home, shaped his handles and repaired any damages, he used every available tool. Consequently wooden-handled spokeshaves may be found in many old Vigo County barns and workshops.

The pioneer woodworker held the spokeshave at a slight angle and made the cut in the uphill direction of the grain. When the grain changed, the direction of the stroke could be changed. The tool could either be pushed or pulled. The push was preferred because it gave better control. The blade, cast iron in the museum example, has edges beveled on one side only. The blade could be ground on a grinder or sharpened on a dry stone. Frequent air or water cooling was necessary.

The pioneer woodworker finished his jobs with the two-handled spokeshave. A finely set spokeshave allowed him to refine shapes with less trouble than other tools. The spokeshave worked best with dry wood. Green wood tended to tear and jam the mouth of the shave. The farmer who made the hickory handles for his own equipment always finished them with his spokeshave.

The visitor to a pioneer tool display can state with knowledge that the two-handled wooden bed with an encased blade is the spokeshave. If anyone asks what a spokeshave is, he can unequivocally state that the tool was a finishing instrument used for curved or concave surfaces. Any competent woodworker could adjust the well-honed blade with the set screws. Then the visitor can walk through the modern hardware store to find the stainless steel, carefully calibrated descendant of the old wooden spokeshave. The handles of the modern one would never absorb the palm grease the old wooden handles did, but the techniques for use are the same.

The historical museum is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday.