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Oldest tool ?
pulsarnc
Member Posts: 6,489 ✭✭✭✭
What are your oldest tool or tools that you still use on a regular basis ? Mine are a set of Smith brand cutting torches bought in 1969. Close behind is a craftsman air compressor from about 1972. It has needed 3 tank replacements but the compressor and motor are original. So chime in guys .
cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war.....
Comments
I still have and use many hand and a couple of power Craftsman tools from the '50's and '60's.
I still use the one I got when I was born. Don
I thought that the oldest tool was joe biden.
1949 Craftsman standup sander, that was my grandfathers. I replaced the original motor , two years ago, and refurbished the whole sander. Works like brand new. I use it constantly.
I have my father's 1/2 inch ratchedt and sockets from the 1930's. Can't remember the brand name.
I collect old logging tools. A draw shave is the one I probably use the most.
I remember the old line: I have a genuine Revolutionary War Indian hatchet. The handle has been replaced only three times and the head once.
I can't claim "use on a regular basis" but I have a few tools from my Dad that date from just after WWII.
He could never afford a larger one.
I'm the oldest tool around my house. 😁
I have lots of various hand tools going back to pre-WW II that my grandpas passed on to me. I use them all the time, and they are so much better than the new stuff.
One of my favorites that I have used a LOT is a small hatchet. It's really crudely made, but it's sharp and tough as can be. I remember Grandaddy telling me the story about it. He and his brother made it out of some old farm implement during the Great Depression and used it to split kindling to make a little money for the family, who was in hard times. My Great Grandaddy had gone to market to sell the tobacco crop. "The Man" from Richmond offered him pennies on the dollar for it. When he protested, "The Man" laughed and said "What else you going to do? We make the rules in Richmond. You ain't got no choice." Great Grandaddy turned around, took the crop home, and burned it in the field rather than sell to those thieves. He never grew tobacco again after that and changed to other crops.
I have a Stanley razor knife that I bought in 1975. Back then I started working with an older guy and borrowed his identical knife. He told me to be careful because he had that before I was born. Even now when I use that knife I remember that guy and think of everyone that was born after I bought mine.
I do still have my grandfather’s homemade tool chest that’s over 100 years old.
I have stone knives and projectile points, but I admit I don't use them all that much.
And wouldn't know what to do with it if he could!
Spent two weeks living with the dean of blacksmiths, Frances Whitaker, in Carbondale, CO.
He started his career in the early part of the 1900’s in Carmel, Calif. He gave me one of his forging hammers, marked with his brand, the ‘diamond F’. I’ve used it ever since. I have no idea how old it is, but from the early in his career.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Whitaker
The oldest too I own was made 2 years before I was born.
Works better than me currently.
A horizontal mill made by Kearny and Trecker.
But of course I did not buy it until 20 some years after I was born, for those of you at would question the timing of those events.
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
Some of my grandpa's carpentry tools from the 1930s.
Cincinnati Toolmaster mill made in 1957, and a Cincinnati Traytop lathe 18" x 42" also 1957 vintage. The lathe's clutch is a bit tired, but she still can fill the pan full of chips.
I often use my grand father's tools which are 100+.
I still have most of the tools I started buying when I was 16 when I started driving and working on cars. for my 16th birthday I ask for just a basic socket set my parents got one from western auto for me about as basic as it could be , I will guess 20 maybe 30 dollars but I know now it was still a strain on the budget for them I think there may be socket or two still around from it .
I have a few of my dads carpenter tools nothing exotic just get the job done tools and show years of use .
of course I have bought many tools at swap meets and auctions a lot of them older than I am
will add I had to be one of the last to start using battery powered hand tools the thought of having to keep updating and buying batteries was a huge road block for me
I agree Thay are handy and convenient but the battery's are crazy price to replace. when I have corded powered tools 40 to 50 + yrs old and just plug them in and still work good as new .
JMHO using (DIY ) tools will fade away to most as we live in a throw away society and very few things can be repaired and if they can the parts cost more than a new item
working on cars I enjoyed but now need a 20k ? computer to plug in and run a scan to tell which of one of the hundreds of processors and servos and sensors has went bad 😲
I have the 150 pound London style blacksmith anvil my father used when he was an apprentice to the town blacksmith in 1920 at the age of 15. He was still using it when he retired at the age of 85.
Actually, I would, and have made them. One major was anthro, with a lot archeology in the mix.😛
got some concrete tools, and some ball pean hammers that were wife's grandpa's
I have a level that belonged to my Great Grandfather. I retired it and it rests on a shelf in my basement.
William, is it wooden or steel (not aluminum.)
many of my tools live up to my handle... old
most from my grand dad and dad
wood/brass levels from 1 to 4 foot
folding 1' wood and brass ruler for keeping inn pocket
carving tools that were my g-dads from maybe the 20's, and many he got second hand
mechanics tools from pop that date to the 40's
g-dads forge dated 18 something from buffalo forge new york
the list goes on but cant think right now
I know right where mine is & still use it. It's on a 6', 1x4 board & from my Grandfather.
(Internet photo)
Wood/Brass
2nd one...not sure where I got this one..
Kinda want to remove the plates to get to the adjustment software,
I have a big chisel, and a slick made in London in the 1880s. I use them for building log cabins. Very good tools.
Since I am building houses that look like they were built in the 19th century, it is good to have tools from the 19th century.
And skip steps 1 and 2??? Are you mad, man?
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
I have a Peter Wright anvil made sometime between 1852 and 1860.
Well, Yeah.
I'll guess my anvil is my oldest 'tool'. No idea how old it actually is but just guessing well over 100 years.
I had a wide variety of Craftsman tools that I'd accumulated since the early 70's. Had is the key word--all destroyed in the 11/2/22 fire that swept away my shop building. No way can those be replaced because of price or current quality issues.
Most of what I'm using now are current production TekTon or box store house brand deemed 'good enough' and affordable.
This axe head is 4 inches long. I found it in a corn field in central Georgia. Probably a thousand years old. I am scared to use it looks like it might break.