Surform

A surform tool (also surface-forming tool) features perforated sheet metal and resembles a food grater. A surform tool consists of a steel strip with holes punched out and the rim of each hole sharpened to form a cutting edge. The strip is mounted in a carriage or handle. Surform tools were called "cheese graters" decades before they entered the market as kitchen utensils used to grate cheese. Surform planes have been described as a cross between a rasp and a plane.

Although similar to many food graters made of perforated sheet metal, surforms differ in having sharpened rims. Also, a surform typically is used to shape material, rather than grate it.

The word surform is an apparent portmanteau of "surface" and "form". It is unclear whether this is a genericized trademark or the opposite, a common name that was subsequently trademarked. Surform is a registered trade mark of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. in many countries across the world. Surform was first registered as a trade mark in the United Kingdom on 25 September 1953

The first Surform tools were the invention of a British company. A patent for a Surform tool blade was obtained in 1949 in Australia by Firth Cleveland Pty Ltd of Wolverhampton England. An affiliated UK company, Simmonds Aerocessories Ltd., was an early manufacturer of Surform tools. They made 3 planes using this blade. These were marketed by another affiliated UK company, British Lead Mills Limited, in or before 1956.

Stanley Works (Stanley) first bought United States manufacturing rights, then bought the company. Stanley began marketing its first surform tools, a plane and a rasp that used the same blade, in 1956. By 1959, Stanley offered a choice of fine and coarse tooth blades. By 1966, the product line had grown to include pocket plane, files (round, half-round, and flat), and an electric drill drum. Reflecting their many uses, Stanley used the slogan it shaves everything but your beard. A feature of the product line was that on all the tools the blades were replaceable; this was important because they could not be sharpened.

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