Brass Badged Sargent’s. Also known as Brass inserts, are Sargent planes with a Brass insert either on the cap or behind the knob (maybe both). These were produced in limited runs sometime between 1927 and 1939 (ref THE SARGENT HAND PLANE REFERENCE GUIDE FOR COLLECTORS & WOODWORKERS – Second Edition). I’ve found both Sargent and Craftsman models in both Oval and rectangular patterns.
Edit 2-2016. After a conversation about a #407 I’ve noted that even though most Sargent Type 5 (1919-1942) planes have the number cast in the base, none of my Brass Badged version do. If you have any information why, please let me know by posting it on the forum or contact me through this site.
I saw a posting on Ebay that looked like this:
Besides the upside down lever cap, something looked different. I thought the logo looked brass, so I contacted the seller. These Sargent planes with brass inserts were produced in limited runs sometime between 1927 and 1939 (ref THE SARGENT HAND PLANE REFERENCE GUIDE FOR COLLECTORS & WOODWORKERS – Second Edition). I put a max bid and won it for the exact max amount. How lucky is that? This is the first time I’ve seen one on eBay, and there were 3 at the same time, all different sellers. Talk about coincidence. A #407 had a starting bid of $270 (it did not sell) and a 414 that I lost the bid on. I wasn’t as aggressive on the 414, but glad I got the #409. It’ll fit in my collection well. The #414 had the brass inlay in the sole.
You’ll note some of the inserts were rectangular and some were oval. (Note, this is not one of mine)
Here are the #407 and #414 off ebay just for documentation.
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And finally here is my #409
And a recent Addition, a nice Sargent #407. It was missing its iron, so I have a Stanley in it until I find a correct iron.
And a #410