The favorite hand tools of my lifetime

[James Pickering]

I just want to pay homage:

https://jp29.org/000yankeeradio.htm

[Tony Zaffuto]

For me, my good, old Stanley 199 utility knife, 50 years young and still going strong.

Jim, I've had a North Bros. screwdriver boxed set on my "collection" list for years, just haven't found the right one with "zing". You're right, these things rarely show up outside of tool auctions or tool sales, such as a Donnelly or Brown event.

[Jerry Olexa]

Thank you for posting...Very interesting.

[David Carroll]

I have a couple of tools that belonged to my Grandfather probably purchased new in the 1910s that I treasure (and gently use). But my most favorite tools are the very first ones I bought from Woodcraft and Garrett Wade back in the early 1980s, of these, my favorite is an ECE block plane and a Tyzack dovetail saw.

DC

[James Pickering]

Thank you gentlemen all.

Of course I do have many other favorite hand tools. Please check them out at:

https://jp29.org/wwtools.htm

[Jerry Olexa]

Tyzack DT saws are the best.
..agree

[bill epstein]

I have a couple of tools that belonged to my Grandfather probably purchased new in the 1910s that I treasure (and gently use). But my most favorite tools are the very first ones I bought from Woodcraft and Garrett Wade back in the early 1980s, of these, my favorite is an ECE block plane and a Tyzack dovetail saw.

DC

Speaking of Garret Wade in the Eighties, my fav is the Bow Saw bought back then. It's recently been supplanted for joint work and re-sawing by my recently acquired Gyuchko Ryoba. A revelation!

[Jim Koepke]

Having the display holder for a set of oft used tools can make using them more enjoyable.

My favorite hand tool is a dovetail saw made from a Ron Bontz kit:

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The awl, plane mallet, folding rule and square are also among my most used favorites.

If anyone is interested, the post on building the saw is here > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?249983

jtk

[Stew Denton]

For me there are just a few: 1. the first saw I ever bought, a Disston D-8 that I restored shortly after I bought it, 2. a Stanley 605 bedrock from about 1925 that was my dads, 3. a Winchester block plane that belonged to my grandfather.

Stew

[steven c newman]

Mine go back to the early 60s...when Handy Andy Tool Sets came in a metal tool box......I may have been in the 3rd Grade, back then.

Hard to find a complete set, any more..

[Scott Winners]

When I was 19 years old, did no one tell me about card scrapers, or was I not listening?

[ken hatch]

I just want to pay homage:

https://jp29.org/000yankeeradio.htm

James,

As we get closer to the end it is good to remember our younger days, especially if we had a life well lived, and what better way than to hold and use tools that have been a part of that life. I'm also nearing the end and while still working full time I know it is not for long and soon I will "retire" even if dragged to it kicking and screaming. My wood working has always been a "hobby", never the means of livelihood, which may be the reason for my attachment. You have opened my eyes to a new way of looking at my tools, I must collect and photograph the ones that have been with me for most of the journey and write their story. All part of remembering a life well lived.

Thanks,

ken

[James Pickering]

James,

As we get closer to the end it is good to remember our younger days, especially if we had a life well lived, and what better way than to hold and use tools that have been a part of that life. I'm also nearing the end and while still working full time I know it is not for long and soon I will "retire" even if dragged to it kicking and screaming. My wood working has always been a "hobby", never the means of livelihood, which may be the reason for my attachment. You have opened my eyes to a new way of looking at my tools, I must collect and photograph the ones that have been with me for most of the journey and write their story. All part of remembering a life well lived.

Thanks,

ken
I agree wholeheartedly, Ken. I am now ninety years old, and i often find myself day dreaming about pleasant woodworking days during my youth as I use some of my old tools.

[James Pallas]

It’s good to use a tool that served you well for many years. When you have to replace one it is almost heartbreaking. You can replace with the exact same tool but it’s not the same. It always is amazing to me how much your sense of touch and weight and dimensions is attached to a particular tool. Here are a few of my favorites that are always handy.

[carey mitchell]

I have several, in 2 groups.

First is a smaller hammer, 12 oz. I believe, that I got for my 6th Christmas, 1950; I still use it as my go-to hammer. I also have a coping saw from that day. My dad left not long after that and I only saw him once afterward, but I think about him every time I pick up that hammer.

The other group consists of a Bailey #6, a wood level, a brace and bunch of rusty bits, 2 spokeshaves, and a couple of dividers, all that belonged to my great grandfather (1857-1952, and passed down to me through my grandfather (who never used them). I use the plane and dividers frequently.

As Ken mentioned above, I too, am moving too rapidly toward the end, looking at 75 in the rear view mirror. One thing I have done is to document the history of these tools for my son and grandchildren. Naturally, there is a large number of other tools but these are special.

[steven c newman]

First 4 planes I started out with....one was a Stanley No. 128, the other three?
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Stanley No. 110...and a couple of #4 sized planes...
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Was easy to get carried away...though....
dad was a mechanic, Grandpa Lew was a RailRoad Section Hand/foreman.....

[Tony Zaffuto]

It’s good to use a tool that served you well for many years. When you have to replace one it is almost heartbreaking. You can replace with the exact same tool but it’s not the same. It always is amazing to me how much your sense of touch and weight and dimensions is attached to a particular tool. Here are a few of my favorites that are always handy.

I'm that way too-particulary my 6' inside reading folding rule!

[Jim Koepke]

My dad used to have a couple of Estwing hammers with leather handles. That was my only reason for buying one at an estate sale for $3. There is a NOS anniversary edition one at one of my regular antique mall stops. It tempts me every time it is in my hands. It brings back memories of my youth.

It is amazing how an old tool can make an old man feel young again.

jtk

[ken hatch]

These are the tools I acquired in the first couple or three years after deciding making things out of wood was enjoyable. Some are still in daily use like the brush and combination square, others come out to play when needed like the ECE scrub plane and the Record shoulder plane, and a few have been replaced by other tools and are for the most part retired.

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Click it to big it;

ken