Heritage Hand tools, Kids and Grandkids

[Stew Denton]

Hi All,

I have a small number of hand tools that belonged to my Dad, and a few that belonged to my grandfather. Most were none too good, but a few weren't too bad. One problem is that I only know "who owned what" for a very small number of them. (My grandfather was my mothers father.)

One hand saw has Grandpa's name on it, and one plane has his initials on it. I know a very small number of my Dads tools, a plane, a brace, and a few others. I have been in the process of restoring Dad and Grandpa's planes. The parts for Grandpa's plane, which I have chased down by watching Ebay for months, have cost me more than the plane is worth, but that doesn't matter at all to me. (It is a really old "Bailey type" Ohio #4, which is about 100 years old. Parts for that plane were a battle to find, but I now have them all and it will very nice when I am though with it. It is a good quality very usable plane.)

Dad gave me grandpa's hand saws before he passed away because he no longer used them, I was the son who liked woodworking and used hand tools, and he knew that family history meant a lot to me. Dad had inherited the saws from grandpa. I dearly wish that at that time I had put his initials on them. Same with the saws that belonged to Dad that I later inherited, l dearly wish that I had marked his. Now I will never know about which are which, because I have quite a few hand saws that I bought at garage sales, etc., many years ago. I do know which saws that I originally bought and restored, so I will put my initials on those, but the rest....who knows.

My point is this....if it isn't too late, mark those heritage tools in some way. For me, knowing the family history of the tool is important, and also I think about leaving them to my son in laws, and grandkids. I think that when they get to my age, it could very well be that the heritage and family history of the tool will be important to them, as it now is to me. There is something special about using a plane or saw that Dad or Grandpa used 50 or 80 years ago.

I am going to mark my own tools for that reason, hopefully maybe one or more of my grandkids will really appreciate that a plane he is using was used by his grandfather, and I plan to mark the tools that I know were Dad's or Grandpa's. I am planning to mark the hand tools because long after my power drills and routers are scrap metal, my hand tools should still be in use.

Just something I wanted to share so that unlike me, some of you younger guys can do this before it is too late.

Stew

[Mike Allen1010]

Thanks a lot Stew for your very helpful and interesting perspective and some good advice. Eventually, we will all have to figure out what to do with our lifetime (and in some cases generations) of acquired tools.

It's always interesting to me how woodworking tools can be perceived/appreciated so differently depending on your perspective; for Neaanders like us we see a collection of old vintage hand tools as "found treasure", while most people see them as "old junk" to get rid of.

A case in point, my wife's grandfather ran his own cabinetmaking shop in New York City for 40 years. When he passed away in 1980 (still running the shop every day) all the children had moved away and none were interested in woodworking and so they disposed of everything in his shop as quickly and expeditiously as possible. One year later I met his granddaughter (now my wife of 28 years). At the time, I was a starving college student, passionate about woodworking particularly with hand tools (just finished James Krenov's books) but my hand tool collection was exactly 0.

At that point in my life, the value to me of my wife's grandfather's tool collection, accumulated in 40 years of running a cabinetmaking shop building furniture in Greenwich Village, was beyond calculation – what I would've given to just have one hour to look through his tools - the family would've gladly given me anything I wanted! Ultimately over the years, I was able to acquire a few of his tools from other family members, but this "missed opportunity" has always stuck with me.

I have two boys in college who appreciate my passion for woodworking and hand tools. I'm sure they will hang on to the furniture I built for them, but at this point in their lives I don't think they would really be interested in having all my tools, maybe just a few that have sentimental value. What's a Neander to do? How great would it be to help a young woodworker just getting started to provide him with high quality, precision tuned tools that are well-maintained, completely sharp and ready to go! On the other hand, the monetary value of my tool collection to woodworkers is probably not insignificant, but I can't picture my family listing all these tools for sale in the SMC classifieds/mega auction site etc., and I'm guessing if they were to sell a whole lot to a tool dealer/auctioneer they would probably get pennies on the dollar.

Fortunately, I haven't reached the point yet where I need to make this decision and I hope I will have at least a few more years to enjoy using my tools. But when the time comes, I really have no idea what I will do with them. I'm wondering what my fellow Creekers would suggest?

All the best, Mike

[Jim Koepke]

I'm wondering what my fellow Creekers would suggest?

I am trying to cultivate an interest for woodworking in my grandchildren. Mostly in one of my daughter's oldest boy. They will be here for a few weeks soon and I am looking forward to finding a project we can build together.

He seemed to enjoy helping me make and install a book shelf last year.

Other than that I try to let my wife and family know there is value in my old tools.

jtk

[William Adams]

For my two obsessions (woodworking and archery) I keep envelopes in which I file all receipts, and boxes in which I store all packaging material / boxes --- the kids can put things back together and puzzle it out, or not --- their choice, but they'll have all the documentation on what was bought when for how much.

Similarly, when I buy a book, I file the receipt away in the book (usually use it as a bookmark).

[Edward Mitton]

A couple of years ago, I inherited a number of my Grandfather's woodworking and mechanics tools. I immediately took out my camera and made a photographic record of each and every one of them. At the same time I photographed most of the tools I already owned, so I am able to have a very good handle (no pun intended) on which is which. Also I have taken to photographing any tools or lots I pick up during rust hunts at garage sales, flea markets and antique stores. In addition, I have many 'before and after' shots of any of these tools that I have restored/refurbished. Armed with these photos, I am currently working on putting together a tool collection album, complete with any historical and manufacturer's information I can find on the tools. In this way, I will have a pretty cool collection and documentation package to pass on to whover inherits the mess from me.