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Thread: Do you lend out your hand tools?

  1. #1

    Do you lend out your hand tools?

    This is sort of a "Dear Abby" post. Just wondering if there is any unwritten rules with lending out handtools? I taught a friend how to carve using my tools. Now he wants to borrow them for a his next project!? I'll lend out a garden hose or shovel but these things are expensive and can be ruined under the wrong hands. Of course, I dont want to be a jerk and say "no"....
    Does anyone here lend out tools? I would never ask a skilled craftsman to lend me thier tools but this guy doesnt understand what the big deal is.

    Thanks!
    Last edited by Craig Regan; 12-02-2016 at 6:06 PM.

  2. #2
    Some folks do. Some dont. Im in the "dont" camp.

    One good idea is to keep some beater tools to lend, instead of your good ones. Another approach is to let him work under your "guidance" in your shop. That way you dont have to say no. Or, you could buy him his first tool as a gift and suggest another few he should buy.

    Dont loan good tools. You'll regret that and resent him when it happens.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  3. #3
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    In short, the answer is usually no.

    The long answer is I do have a bunch of second rate tools I will consider loaning. They are usually tools that will not cause me deep regrets if they do not come back.

    You could get a copy of a Lee Valley catalog or even print out a few pages from various web sites to let him see the cost of the tools he wants to borrow. He should also know you can not carve your project if he has hold of your tools. This is an especially bad time of year if you carve projects for gifts. What will happen when he wants to carve his next project?

    How many tools does he need? If it is just a few to get started perhaps finding a few, inexpensive used carving tools might be a good gift from you to him. Does he have a way to sharpen them?

    My best friend 'borrowed' a screw driver from me once because he didn't want to wait for me to get an allen wrench. Of course he messed up the screw driver's tip. It was a cheap screwdriver, but he never did replace it. He is still a good friend, but he knows I will not loan him a tool again. I will go to where the work is an do it for him in some cases, but I will not loan him a tool that is easily misused.

    My final point with people who feel there shouldn't be a problem with loaning out my best tools is to tell them, "to me it would be like loaning out my wife."

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  4. #4
    When I was last working at the last shop where I used my own tools, I had one simple rule abou borrowing my tools (especially without asking): it was OK as long as I never found out about it.

    That means that they did four things:

    1. Returned the tool
    2. Returned the tool clean
    3. Returned the tool unbroken
    4. Returned the tool where they found it

    If I never found out about it, no harm was done.

  5. #5
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    I will loan commodity tools (cheap users that I care less about) and some power tools. I will not loan out anthing that I couldn't stand being ruined. I will not loan out tools that are too dangerous for the borrower (Chain saw, etc...).

    Oddlty enough, I won't loan most hammers. I spent a lot of time dressing the faces for smithing, I'd rather not do it again.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  6. #6
    I will loan a tool if it can be replaced. Most of my tools are not collector's items, and were given to me by my father when he sold his shop space. Many were given to him. He used them for 50yrs and I plan the same - - and I have little fear that I or the borrower will wear them out.

    Depending on the tool, I may make them listen to my spiel about tool care and feeding. A small price to pay.

  7. #7
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    Always a difficult subject. I don't know how it ever got to the point where the tool owner should feel guilty about not lending tools. For myself I buy tools as I have the need or the urge to try some new project. I have tried new things and not continued on the path and either kept or sold the tools. The person who wants to borrow should go buy their own tools. If they decide not to pursue the task they won't loose much by selling the tool or tools if they bought good stuff to begin with. Don't lend tools be the selfish bad guy looking at your destroyed tool will be worse than the beating you will take for not lending.
    Jim

  8. #8
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    I guess I'm lucky: the only people I know who would know what to do with my good tools already have their own.

    I did put together a basic toolbelt "kit" for a friend who was part of a sweat equity house build, but that's different; they were excess tools, not "my" tools.

  9. #9
    I have a friend who is a very good woodworker - in fact, he has taught me quite a number of things. But he didn't know how to carve. He signed up for a class and asked if he could use my tools for the class since I have quite a number of carving tools. I taught him how to sharpen carving tools and lent him the whole set of tools for several months.

    After taking the class, he decided that he was not a really good carver and was not gong to pursue it. He returned the tools in good condition. I did a bit of touching up but not much.

    But for anyone else, highly unlikely.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  10. #10
    Thanks for the response. My main concern is with sharpening the carving tools; its possible damage could be done in the hands of a beginer. I think the old beater tools (and a Woodcraft catolog) might be the best idea. If he wants, he can still use mine tools but only under supervision.

  11. #11
    Under special circumstances I would and by special I mean special people, otherwise never.

  12. #12
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    My lending policy is based on two principles.

    1. Never lend anyone anything they might hurt themselves or others with. An example is chisels. A most dangerous tool, perhaps second only to axes. Anyone can hurt themselves badly, and even fatally, with an extremely sharp chisel. They themselves may be careful, but will they leave it laying around where a small child might pick it, run, and trip? This rule applies to circular saws, guns, motor vehicles, and thermo nuclear devices. Of course, I would not hesitate to lend an axe to someone I knew to be trustworthy, and a conscientious and accomplished axeman.

    2. Never lend anyone anything that MUST be returned whole and in good condition. If I lend it, I assume it will not be returned at all. Even if it is returned, I assume it will be busted, chipped, and useless. Or it will at least be rusty and dull requiring a lot of work to get back into condition. This mindset makes it possible to lend without resentment and without risking a damaged relationship. If the person's need is great enough, and I can do without the tool entirely, then it would be less than Christian to not lend it.

    Regarding borrowing tools, a wise man once said that, if he borrowed an axe from his neighbor, he always returned it on time, cleaned, with the haft oiled, and the blade sharper than when he borrowed it. Anything less is theft, he asserted. People were eager to lend him tools.
    Last edited by Stanley Covington; 12-02-2016 at 9:13 PM.

  13. #13
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    Simple answer? NO. But, IF I can come along with the tool.....then it is a "maybe"

    Unless it is one of my Grandsons, that I know he knows HOW to use the tools. Might take a while to get a tool back, but, I know where they are....

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Craig Regan View Post
    This is sort of a "Dear Abby" post. Just wondering if there is any unwritten rules with lending out handtools? I taught a friend how to carve using my tools. Now he wants to borrow them for a his next project!? I'll lend out a garden hose or shovel but these things are expensive and can be ruined under the wrong hands. Of course, I dont want to be a jerk and say "no"....
    Does anyone here lend out tools? I would never ask a skilled craftsman to lend me thier tools but this guy doesnt understand what the big deal is.

    Thanks!
    Yes, but not my best ones and not to any random schmuck. It also depends on how difficult the tool will be to fix if they mess it up.

    I've loaned out my Narex chisels but not my LVs or RIs. I've likewise loaned out my (few) WoodRiver planes and ECE jointer, but not my LVs or LNs.

    In the case of carving tools I only have one set (Pfeil) and wouldn't loan those out. In that case it's not so much because of cost but rather the degree of effort that has gone into optimizing each of them. I vary inner/outer bevels from center<->edge as described in Leonard Lee's book, and that would have to be largely redone if somebody banged them up.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    My final point with people who feel there shouldn't be a problem with loaning out my best tools is to tell them, "to me it would be like loaning out my wife."
    Hey, some people are into that (not me, but some)...

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