Winchester spokeshave

[Brads]

Hi everyone, new member here from Minnesota. Looking for some information on a Winchester spokeshave that I recently came across. It has a W 91 in large letters on the handle and WINCHESTER
Trademark
Made in USA
on the blade in very small letters. also, there are some part(?) numbers on the other pieces that are hard to read.
Any help would be appreciated!

[Bill Houghton]

http://www.thckk.org/history/winchester-hist.pdf  Scroll down; the tools were a relatively late offering in the company's history.

Winchester didn't make its own tools; like many department stores and hardware companies, they contracted with toolmakers, usually the major names, to make the tools with the Winchester name on them.

Oddly, although they're considered collectible tools, I was unable to find a forum for collectors of the tools - not hard to find places for people who collect Winchester rifles to chat, but not so much the tools.  Maybe the tool guys and the rifle guys are the same people, though, and both conversations happen there.

[Brads]

Thanks Bill!
Have been doing some research of my own and what I have found confirms what you wrote about Winchester farming out the manufacturing of tools to other companies. The spokeshave I have appears to be identical to the Stanley No. 51 spokeshave. I haven't found any forums specifically devoted to Winchester tools either but that's ok, just wanted to find out it if it was super rare. It isn't. I found three others that have either sold recently or are for sale now. I bought it to use and now I know that it's ok to go ahead and use it for the purpose it was made. Thank you as well for the link to the Winchester web site- I found it to be very interesting- love the history behind antique tools.

[Bill Houghton]

The Stanley 51 (gull-wing handles) and 52 (straight handles) are some of Stanley's most useful spokeshaves, in my opinion.  Many people like the 151/152, which have nuts engaging slots in the iron for fine adjustment; but I find the nuts get in the way on tight inside corners, and mess with the balance of the shave.  It doesn't take long to get used to adjusting the blade by hand (some people use a very small hammer to tap lightly on the blade as needed; I just wiggle it into place), and in return, you get a shave that's lighter and more maneuverable.

So, you did well.