This handy guide to old tools is filled with photos and useful information on common and unusual tools of the past. Fully illustrated, this quality paperback includes prices for every item. 2003 values. REVIEW: Tools of blacksmiths, farriers, wheelwrights, bricklayers, slaters, loggers, tinners, leatherworkers, lumbermen, and woodworkers, as well as transportation, land, water, and farm tools, fill the pages of this handy price guide to antique tools. The name and value of the item is given, as well as important facts on how the tools were used and who used them. It's a perfect glimpse at part of our American heritage. -John Alvey
Reader Reviews
I think the breadth of the information in this book is what causes the problems. It attempts to cover a wide range of antique tools according to the profession of the user. On this basis, it is a rather remarkable collection of widely varying information on lots of old tools and their uses. The problem is that most of the information appears to have come from helpful dealers and passers-by, not necessarily experts. This is alluded to in the forward, so there is no deliberate attempt to claim otherwise. These helpful people were not necessarily knowledgable as shown by incorrect naming and descriptions on some items. The included price guides also varied all over the map from too cheap to too expensive. In no cases were maker names mentioned along with the pricing which makes them pretty much useless. I was particularly interested in this book for the woodworking section which is only barely touched upon given the wide subject material and limited space. I did learn the names of lots of esoteric stuff that I did not know about before.
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