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+-- Thread: A sad post-note of HSB / Revonoc tools, I did not know (/showthread.php?tid=7351323)
A sad post-note of HSB / Revonoc tools, I did not know - C. in Indy - 11-19-2019
Interesting how a hobby can lead to new associations I didn't have before.
I had once used a vintage HSB Rev-O-Noc plane and it was functionally as nice as any Stanley or Sargent. I remembered that Revonoc was the backward spelling of Conover. Cursory reading of the HSB tool histories online suggested a heyday around 1920-1940, something like that.
Just last night I was reading an article about boating. I was then stunned to read about the famous 1958 loss of a Conover family and their boat, the "Revonoc, Jr.":
https://www.si.com/vault/1958/01/20/570455/nature-keeps-a-grim-date-at-sea
On another tangent, last summer I was in New England for a relative's wedding. There was a sea-worn guy who had once run yachts for a "rich guy out of Chicago". Then he said the rich guy's last name was Wacker, and he came out of the family for which Lower Wacker Drive was named.
- Chris
RE: A sad post-note of HSB / Revonoc tools, I did not know - Stwood_ - 11-19-2019
I have a #5 Revonoc. I'll pick it up before my #5 Stanley. I love the heavy, tapered blade in it.
Interesting article you posted
RE: A sad post-note of HSB / Revonoc tools, I did not know - Mike Brady - 11-20-2019
Very tragic story of that family.
Another family company that I admire the products of is Vaughn and Bushnell (V&B) of Chicago. Their hand planes are very nice and are made of steel rather than cast iron. I have not had one in my collection, but I remember forum member Slav (the file King of Chicago) had several to examine. If anyone has a V&B to sell I would be interested.