Tool Collecting

ttalma

ttalma

Well-known member
A question I posted about handsaws got me thinking about colling tools. I have a large number of tools, so many that I have been selling them off on ebay because I have been tripping over the boxes of them in my shop. I counted the molding planes and I had about 200 I'd never used, 7 stanley 45's, etc. 

While selling them I have been supprised at what a handful have been bringing. Most have sold in the $20-$30 range, but a few have sold for a few hundred.

When I bought them I bought them with the intention of using them, not display or reselling them.

So this got my wondering do any of you collect tools, as in buy and display, but never intending to use? Or do you buy tools planing to use them? Do you pay more for a makers mark, or somthing along those lines when you can get an equivalent plane by another maker for a lot less? So what's your opinion on collecting?
 
When I first got serious about woodworking & period furniture making many years ago, I got into the thrill of finding used hand tools that I thought I would need in my furniture making endeavors. I never thought of them as a financial investment. However, like you, it got to the point that many went unused and only got in the way of my now small workshop. Although I never became obsessed with wooden molding planes, maker's mark etc., I did however look for quality and serviceability in a tool.

What has happened over the years is a gravitation to certain tools that I use almost daily. As a consequence, many old tools I collected only gathered dust on the shelves. I've since unloaded many things I discovered I really didn't need. Since then, I've discouraged people from collecting hand tools unless they truely believe they will use them. On the other hand there is still the excitement of finding a great old tool and wanting to own it. Let's face it though, you can only use one or two Stanley 45's at a time!

Some serious collectors of tools say they are preserving our past and heritage of days gone by but I say it is better to use them and care for them thus revealing their true purpose. Our past would be better served if more of us had a chance to own old & used hand tools.
 
I have two groups of tools. Tools I use and tools I collect. Without tool collectors it would be impossible to do historic research, and make new quality tools. If tools had no collectible value they would be destroyed. There is room in the world for everyone. If you find yourself with too much stuff you don't want - sell it. If you find yourself with not enough stuff - buy it. If you are interested in tool history and not tool using be a collector and be proud of it. If you find yourself interested just in using tools use the tools. If you are interested in both arenas do both.

 
Just my opinion, but there is no shame in tool collecting.  I've seen folks post that a tool "should" be used, as if the tool has some sort of native intelligence that can be shamed by hanging unused on a wall.  Just as I think the antique seller's description of an object having "history" is incorrect (the object doesn't remember whether it was present at the Revolution, or was made last week), there is no "appropriate" use of a tool that can be objectively defended.

That said, I do actually think ruining a good Disston panel saw by painting an amatuerish scene on the plate is shameful. ;-)
 
I probably have all the tools I need to make period masterpieces but I'm compelled to spend way too much time looking for inexpensive yet unusual or interesting tools. It's my version of chasing a little white ball around trying to get a hole in one.

There were just a few toolmakers from here in VA and nearby Washington DC, so I'd like to find planes or saws, marked Norfolk, VA, Petersburg, VA, or Washington DC. Someone from Pittsburgh wouldnt give a hoot about a DC plane so like sports, tool collecting can be a local passion or affliction.

I have one manufactured tool that no one has definitively identified. No one will ever use it again but it shouldn't be discarded, even though its probably not worth much. Its a collectible tool, fun to show to anyone thats interested, and I feel responsible for it, until I decide I'm done and sell it to some other collector.

I wish my tools could talk because IMO they do have history that most of us may never appreciate, even though we are among the premiere woodworking tool users in the country. My favorite chisel is a 2" Buck, inscribed Frederick Wesley George Tresize, 2/4 Irish, 1/4 Amer Indian, 1/4 English, Master Patternmaker, Master Molder,Partner, Easton Brass & Machine Works. I think Fred was proud of his heritage, accomplishments and his tools, and new someone like us would appreciate both so he wrote it on the two inch Buck. I wish I knew what he used it for. I use it once in a while but it would be a shame to use it so much that his history is ground away.

I'm in the camp thats its fun to use and collect, at least a few things.
 
I still use the first Buck Bros. cast steel 1" chisel that I bought when I was 14. I used to scoff at those who collected but didn't use the tools, but I've come around to thinking it's a great hobby to collect even though I do use 99% of mine.-Al
 
Another way to look at it is as a conservator and preservationist. Not to put them behind glass cases in a museum, but to protect them for when someone who's genuinely interested in using them comes along. Everyone can be a mini-Patrick Leach, with a few shelves or cabinets full of decent tools rescued from the clutches of the evil saw painters, restaurant decorators, and neglected rust piles. These are a cache for the next wave of enthusiasts. Enjoy looking at them while you have them, but don't hold on too tight; be ready to pass them on down the line to the next person who will truly appreciate them. You are merely their present caretaker.
 
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