Welcome to “The Duplex” Plane website – the ONLY place where you will find information on the block planes manufactured by Joseph Wolsterholme & Sons, of Sheffield and Holborn, England.

Firstly, let me dispel any myths that you may have. “The Duplex” plane was NEVER EVER manufactured by ANY OTHER firm other than Joseph Wolstenholme & Sons. They were NEVER made by Marples. They were NEVER made by Preston. They were NEVER made by Wingfield & Rowbotham. They were ONLY made by JWS and sold by other firms, including William Marples & Sons, Robert Marples & Sons, Thomas Turner & Co., Edward Preston & Sons, Lockwood Brothers, Richard Melhuish Ltd. and many others. The fact that these planes are included in those manufacturer’s catalogues is not proof that those firms actually made the planes – only that they sold them. This is a common practice of tool companies of the 19th and 20th century, as it is today.

Now I know that there will be skeptics out there – especially amongst collectors – but I will illustrate, via this website and my upcoming book, why my claims are so. They are not the ravings of a hand tool nut job (well, they might be actually? Who am I to judge?) but the result of years of carefully researched and documented evidence collected over time.

So please browse the pages of this website and learn about a long forgotten company and the wonderfully simple little block planes they created and sold for almost thirty years.