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hand tools Archives - Page 2 of 5 - The Year of Mud

Feb 11
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Axes We Love

By Wood Carving, Hand Tools, Carpentry, Woodworking
John Neeman Tools Goosewing Broad Axe

The very artful John Neeman Goosewing Broad Axe

I’ll admit, I spend perhaps an inordinate amount of time looking at images of axes. There’s just something about them. I think it’s their timeless functionality and dashingly good looks. Over the hundreds of thousands of years they have been in use by humankind, any number of styles, shapes, and sizes have been made to perform a variety of splitting, chopping, carving, and shaping work. It’s the sheer variety and the craftsmanship that I’m most attracted to, I think. Of course I love using them, too, probably more than any other hand tool.

To celebrate the axe and the people who continue to make them, here is a selection of 26 modern day hand forged axes made by a variety of blacksmiths that are beautiful, functional, and swoon-worthy.

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Jan 11
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Tool Drool

By Woodworking, Resources, Hand Tools

2013_04_katalog_teaserThis post (I hope) is not encouraging materialism, although it may seem mighty close. I just got my free copy of the newest (to me) Dictum tools catalog. Dictum (formerly Dick Fine Tools) is based in Germany, where they offer the topmost of the top of the line woodworking (and gardening, leather working) tools in the world. That sounds like a bold claim, but I think it’s true. It’s full of the best Japanese, German, & American wares. Their catalog is very finely made to boot, with beautiful photos, and a wealth of information about each category of tools.

Why am I writing about this… well, the catalog is free, and I encourage anyone curious to go ahead and get a copy (by mail, or by PDF). Sometimes, it’s helpful to know what quality means and looks like. I have no doubt the stuff in here is top notch, most of it exceedingly so that it easily surpasses my budget. Maybe this is a stretch, but I think it’s educational, too. The range of items they offer is big, and some things I have frankly never seen anywhere else. There are profiles interspersed of individual toolmakers, so you get a sense of who is making the knives, saws, where they live, etc. I especially like that.

I am a firm believer that you shouldn’t waste your time with inferior tools (because time and energy are ultimately our greatest asset), and the refined craft of tool making is unfortunately going by the wayside. This is a way to keep those ideas alive.

Nov 19
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Hand Forging Axes in 1960s America: A Short Film

By Video, Hand Tools, Resources
Forging an Axe By Hand

Forging axes by hand in America in the 60s

I recently enjoyed watching this insightful video about making and forging axes in Oakland, Maine in 1965 at the Emerson Stevens shop. This particular shop was the last surviving company to produce axes in an area once known for forging and blade-making. To watch these individuals work and to witness the process is a real treat, yet the film is permeated with a certain sadness as the filmmaker realizes that we are watching something that is soon to wither away into history.

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Aug 25
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Make Your Own Wooden Pizza Peel

By Cob Oven, Hand Tools, Woodworking
Wooden Pizza Peel

Homemade wooden pizza peel ready for action

This week, I remembered our nearly finished outdoor oven is almost useless without a certain few tools. Unlike a conventional oven, you don’t just pop open the door, throw on an oven mitt or two, and take out your food. The best and most exciting part of baking in a cob oven is sliiiiding pizza and bread in and out with a pizza peel, a long handled paddle for transferring food in and out without burning your fingertips off in a 800°+ cooking environment. So I decided to take a couple hours to make a wooden pizza peel with a piece of oak I had sighted earlier for the purpose. Here’s how I made it.

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May 08
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What a Studley Tool Chest… and More Woodworking Hand Tool Candy

By Hand Tools, Woodworking
H.O. Studley Tool Chest

The infamous (and absolutely gorgeous) H.O. Studley Tool Chest

By the way, comments should be back open! I swear, I am just constantly plagued by weird comments bugs on this blog, and half the time people can’t chime in because something in the inner workings of this here website has rewired itself again. Go ahead and try it now, though!

Moving on… In just a couple of short weekends, Handworks in Amana, Iowa is happening. Handworks (May 24-25) is a sweet little two day woodworking hand tool festival, with a bunch of companies turning out to show off their stuff, providing a good excuse for woodworkers and tool mongers to talk even more about sharp edged things.

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Apr 15
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Protect Yourself (and Your Tools)

By Timber Framing, Hand Tools
Chisel Tool Roll

Handmade toll roll for less than $5!

Protect your tools. Both you and they will be much happier with adequate shelter and storage. Even with our new tool shed, there is still a feeling of inadequacy for the storage of some of our building tools. Better shelves might help, but we’ve got planes, chisels, and all manner of things that are a bit too “exposed” and unprotected for my liking.

However, we are on the way to changing some of that, now that April made her first leather tool roll for our timber framing chisels. I’m in love with it!

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Mar 04
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Timber Frame Joinery: How to Make a Mortise By Hand

By Hand Tools, Timber Framing, Strawtron
Millers Falls Boring Machine

How to make a mortise with hand tools: boring machine and chisel

You can’t have a tenon without a mortise. They go together like peas and carrots. (Or insert your favorite “go together” cliche here.) Uh, anyway, I described how to cut a tenon by hand in a previous post, and in this article, I’ll describe the process for making a mortise in a timber by hand. A mortise is basically a slot for a tenon, which is later pegged to secure the joinery. It’s simple and timeless.

Mortises are arguably more difficult to make by hand than tenons. I’ll describe how to do it with a boring machine and chisel.

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Feb 26
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AUTINE: Bladesmith John Neeman’s New Tool Company

By Hand Tools, Timber Framing
Autine Hand Forged Tools

John Neeman’s new wares

If you haven’t heard the scoop already, master bladesmith John Neeman of Neeman Tools, whose dazzling photos and videos of deliciously hand forged woodworking tools have whipped up a lot of excitement over the past year, has now branched away from his namesake company and is heading AUTINE, a new family company dedicated to creating stunning, and absolutely top quality axes, knives, chisels, and more.

It is unclear how the split between John Neeman and Neeman Tools has occurred, and it’s certainly confusing that his name is still the brand for the company that he has detached from, but regardless, we lucky tool fetishists now have two incredible sources for excellent hand forged tools.

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Feb 22
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Hans Karlsson Makes Some Fine Tools

By Woodworking, Hand Tools
Hans Karlsson adze

Hans Karlsson 5cm adze for bowl carving

I like learning about new tool makers, and Hans Karlsson is a Swedish blacksmith whose high quality, hand-forged carving and woodworking tools are ones I’ve been recently taken with. I picked up a small carving adze and heavy duty bent gouge for bowl making, and the excellent quality is distinct from the get-go.

Here’s some information on Hans Karlsson and his tools that I have been able to glean. If you’re interested in bowl and spoon carving, or any kind of hand tool woodworking, take note!

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Feb 19
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Restoring an Old Millers Falls Boring Machine / I ❤ Craigslist

By Timber Framing, Hand Tools
Millers Falls Boring Machine - Replacement Base

The partly restored Millers Falls machine with brand new base

First of all, I love craigslist. I actually don’t use it that often in my daily life (it’s less useful when you live in the country), but we’ve made a few real scores in some lucky searching stints. While in TN, I happened to do a Millers Falls boring machine search, and I found one… for $160, and it wasn’t terribly far away. The only downside is that it needed some work, namely a new base and one or two small parts replaced.

Considering these suckers can go for $400-$900, I’d say it was worth it. And they just don’t make any equivalent (hand-powered) versions of these things anymore, so I felt obligated to pick this one up, tune it up, and preserve it. (And use it, too, no doubt.)

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