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Clockwise from bottom: card scraper, Veritas small scraper plane,
Stanley 112 scraper plane
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Before sandpaper was even an idea , the humble card scraper was an essential tool in a woodworkers tool box. The hand held device had its edges burnished to a "hook" to create a scraping surface. The tool was applied at an acute angle in the the direction of travel. Fine, small wood shavings would be left in front of the scraper. Behind the scraper was a smooth surface ready for finishing. Scrapers claim to fame is their ability to remove wood with no tearout. This function especially shines when figured wood is used. Figured woods have grains which change direction thoughout the piece.
Some time later, during the frenzy of metal hand plane production, a thicker scraper was adapted to a hand plane and among others, the Stanley 112 plane was created. A properly tuned up 112 is a treat to use as it effortlessly removes wafer thin shavings with each pass.
Modern copies of the original scraper hand planes come in varing sizes and designs but accomplish the same task as their ancestors.
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