This genuine antique looks almost primitive, or like a tool from a by-gone era. It is a cast iron hand plane for shaving ice!

It actually feels pretty comfortable in your hand, like a big bar of soap. From what we can surmise, a bartender would hold this in the hand teeth side down and rub it across the surface of a large chunk of ice. The adjustable teeth would dig into the ice block scraping up shavings, but unlike a carpenter’s plane, the ice bits are retained inside the hinged compartment. After several passes, you would flip open the lid and empty the shaved ice into a glass.

This would make wonderful ice for Mint Juleps, although it may need to be cleaned and sharpened first! We have done nothing to clean it or remove the patina of age. Some of the shiny tinned surface remains on the inside, but the outside is rustic and original. The hinged lid says BRIGHTON and L&S.I.CO. in raised lettering. We think it is a great conversation piece if nothing else and a fantastic bit of bar decor.