A small tribute to old family tools

My ancestors is a long list of artisans of all kinds, from drystones to coopers, master builders and shipwrights.

We have all sorts of old tools at home which I will try to take care of and learn how to use them, one at a time.

The first one is the old adze shown in the attached picture.

Adzes have a link in wikipedia

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adze

and here are two posts using one

- https://permies.com/t/193267/Finishing-rough-cut-wood-tool#1602458

- https://permies.com/t/53408/Log-cabin-questions#436469

Sometimes it is difficult to know the name and use of a tool.

Do you have any old tool to show or links to information about old tools? Thank you in advance.

This seems a good place to post this topic, to my surprise there is a skip pep tool.care topic but none of the forums is devoted to this subject.

Only in the “all forums” list there is one forum refering to textile tools.

Hi, Cal

That is a really excellent tool.

We have had some nice tools that have been handed down through the family.

I added your topic to our Gear Forum as that is where most posts about tools are.

Since you found the PEP Tool Care I hope you will be able to do some PEP BB (Badge Bits) there while caring for your tools.

I love old tools. I also have a thread on restoring old hand me down tools. I bet you have some really interesting antiques with that history!!!

Looking forward to seeing more like this wonderful adze.

Anne Miller wrote:Hi, Cal

That is a really excellent tool.

We have had some nice tools that have been handed down through the family.

I added your topic to our Gear Forum as that is where most posts about tools are.

Since you found the PEP Tool Care I hope you will be able to do some PEP BB (Badge Bits) there while caring for your tools.

Hi Anne

thank you for redirecting the post to the right forum, I appreciate your help.

It is a great suggestion to earn some PEP Badge Bits while improving the tools.

Please, post a photograph of one of your family tools if you have time.

I have a handful of my grandfathers tools.  The main difference between my grandfathers tools and my new tools us that my grandfathers tools don’t break.

One of the things I miss most about moving country is the family tools I've had to leave behind. My favourite gardening tool was my grandfather's old mattock.

L. Johnson wrote:I love old tools. I also have a thread on restoring old hand me down tools. I bet you have some really interesting antiques with that history!!!

Looking forward to seeing more like this wonderful adze.

Hi Johnson

thank you for your post, what a big set you have !!!

Some are similar to the ones we have, so I might ask you for some uses.

John F Dean wrote:I have a handful of my grandfathers tools.  The main difference between my grandfathers tools and my new tools us that my grandfathers tools don’t break.

Hi John

you are right, having them is a sign that they are long lasting and heavily tested.

Please, share an old one if you have time.

Jane Mulberry wrote:One of the things I miss most about moving country is the family tools I've had to leave behind. My favourite gardening tool was my grandfather's old mattock.

Hi Jane

I have looked for what a mattock is in wikipedia (I only know local names).

If I remember well we have one, so next week, once I take it, I will post a picture.

I added this to the Low Tech forum. You might want to see what's in there too!

Cal, the mattock I had was very like this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattock#/media/File%3ACutter_mattock.jpg

Useful for so many different garden tasks!

Pearl Sutton wrote:I added this to the Low Tech forum. You might want to see what's in there too!

Hi Pearl

thank you for the invitation.

I have found some interesting  topics to follow in the Low Tech forum.

L. Johnson wrote:I love old tools. I also have a thread on restoring old hand me down tools. I bet you have some really interesting antiques with that history!!!

Looking forward to seeing more like this wonderful adze.

Hi Johnson

following your post about early american tools

- https://permies.com/t/189772/Timey-Homestead-Tools-Implements

there is a detailed picture in this link about  carpenter’s adze

- https://www.pa-roots.com/southbend/EricSloan/sloanepics3.html

that resembles a lot to the adze I have posted, it is the one labeled as 1600’s !!!

This is quite probable because  we had one wood folding table dated to the same period.

Jane Mulberry wrote:Cal, the mattock I had was very like this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattock#/media/File%3ACutter_mattock.jpg

Useful for so many different garden tasks!

Hi Jane,

is this a cutter mattock ?

It is quite sharp, big and heavy, only two inches wide.

There are signs of hammer’s forge works at both cutter ends with hexagonal pattern hit spots.

Moreover, the large side has a layer of additional metal attached to original iron.

Thank you

It could be, Cal, though with the curve and extra length of that blade, it looks more like some sort of adze to me. But I am far from expert on these things.

My Poppy's mattock was straighter and the two side were equal length. But there are so many regional variations with hoes, and hand made tools that suited the specific purpose one person might have for it. So many of these tools have hundreds of varaiants under the same general tool name. That's what makes it so interesting!

Jane Mulberry wrote:It could be, Cal, though with the curve and extra length of that blade, it looks more like some sort of adze to me. But I am far from expert on these things.

My Poppy's mattock was straighter and the two side were equal length. But there are so many regional variations with hoes, and hand made tools that suited the specific purpose one person might have for it. So many of these tools have hundreds of varaiants under the same general tool name. That's what makes it so interesting!

You are probably right, Jane, I appreciate your comment because now I see your point that the curve, length, angles and balance are all good indicators about a tool use (even about the owner).

For the moment, let's label it as a heavy duty adze.

Since it may be suitable for the PEP BB woodland.sand.peel  I will try to experience how it behaves removing hard barks.

https://permies.com/wiki/100800/Peel-live-trees-put-ground



Thank you

That's the most interesting thing about old tools, I think. Not just that they are more task specific, but that they likely were made for a specific user. And the tool itself will tell you plenty about the user and how they worked with the tool. It really is a fascinating part of history!

Jane Mulberry wrote:That's the most interesting thing about old tools, I think. Not just that they are more task specific, but that they likely were made for a specific user. And the tool itself will tell you plenty about the user and how they worked with the tool. It really is a fascinating part of history!

Hi Jane, this topic has become an interesting talk with my father, now eighty, who never used these tools although he took care of them.

Nevetheless, he remembers very well how they were used seventy years ago by my grandfather.

For example, now I know that previous picture was a bricklayer’s adze used in house building to cut excess hard material.

My grandfather was one foot shorter than my father, hence the tool angle and short handle; he also added the sharp extensions to repurpose the older tool.

I will try to post some story behind the pictures to illustrate them.

What is difficult for me is to express that there is a specific vocabulary associated with each tool.

These are words I had never heard before, neither the object, the purpose, nor the actions involved, so I need to take notes.

Somehow, it is like uncovering a lifestyle.

This is an old beekeeping face protection that had thin soft leather belts to tighten it properly.

The leather belts were delicate and thay were lost due to the lack of propper leather maintenance.