Thoughts from the Saw Shop: vintage tools, modern tools, and “made in China”

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

So, there I was a week or so ago, wandering through the back room of one of my favorite second hand shops, one of my regular stops, listening for vintage tools to call out to me to be rescued. I was looking over a handsaw when my attention was caught by a man just a bit down from me, muttering over what I thought was quite a nice old shovel. Not that I restore shovels, mind you, but this one had a great early handle and a blade that looked hardly worn at all, as if it was just tucked in the corner 70 years ago and forgotten about. The man was muttering over the handle rivets being a bit loose and some light cracking in the shaft of the handle.

Being the dedicated old tool guy I am, I spoke up and noted that all he needed was a 3lb or so hammer and something solid to strike against (I use my anvil) to tighten the rivets. I also remarked that the shaft cracks were just the result of the wood being left unfinished for so long and a nice treatment of boiled linseed oil would make that wood last another 70-80 years at least. Away he went to the register with a great shovel and a little piece of history.

This incident got me to thinking. We’ve not only forgotten the skilled craftsmanship aspect to tools (ie sharpening crosscut saws) but we’ve forgotten even the basics of maintaining our tools and this is one thing that has driven the rise of the cheap modern junk mostly imported from China. Where the old timers would have taken 5 minutes with hammer and anvil and tightened those loose handle rivets, people today are ready to throw away or not buy a great quality tool over it. Handle finish wears or deteriorates and is left that way until the wood disintegrates rather than spend 15-20 minutes a year treating it with linseed oil. What a waste, and you wonder why we’re shipping all of our money over to China.

I’ve always figured that every one of my restored, quality, vintage tools that goes out means dozens of “made in China” junk that don’t get purchased, but even looking after a Chinese made tool can mean at least a dozen more that don’t get purchased. Just simply looking after what you have for tools is a force multiplier in the fight against the tide of cheap crap tools.

You don’t have to buy my top quality vintage “made in USA” restored tools (although I wish you would ), just take care of what you have already and get the maximum life out of it. Stop and think about it the next time you throw away any tool that could be brought back to life. Stop feeding the Chinese trade monster by wasting your tools and we’ll all be better off for it.

Visit me at any of the following locations:

B&G Treasures, 11 Depot St, Norridgewock, ME (Mondays)

Tractor Supply, Skowhegan, ME (Tuesday)

Somerset Woods turnout, Canaan Rd (Rt 2), Skowhegan,ME (Wednesday)

Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1 & Log Cabin Rd, Arundel, ME (Fridays)

Fryeburg Flea Market (Fryeburg Fairgrounds), Fryeburg, ME
(Sundays, Memorial Day thru end of September)

298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an
email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

SwiftWater Edge Tool Works provides mobile sharpening services across Maine and mail in services around the world for handsaws, carbide blades, planer knives, hand planes, chain saws, knives, scissors, hair clippers, router bits, and almost any blade!

Saw Shop Tech: What’s my old/vintage/antique tool worth?

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

I get this question all the time via the blog, the website, and in person on my sharpening stops. What’s an old crosscut saw worth? What’s a Bailey #3 plane worth? For you folks expecting to make a mint from your “barn fresh” tools, I’m going to let you in on a few secrets.

1. The prices on my finished hand saws, planes, and other vintage tools are NOT what your dirty, rusty, cruddy tool is worth. The cost of the raw unrestored tool itself is only a tiny fraction of the value of the restored tool. You may not get anyone to pay even $2-$3 for a rusty Disston hand saw but clean it properly, spiff the handle up, and sharpen it well and then you have something that’s worth something.

2. Your tool probably isn’t as collectible as you think. Unless your Stanley Bailey plane is a Type 1 or Type 2 in any size or a #1 size or you have an original Leonard Bailey (pre-Stanley) plane, you’re probably not going to be dining at a ritzy restaurant on the take from it. I know it has sentimental value and you think it looks good but I have yet to get any vintage tool in that didn’t require significant attention to bring it up to the level I expect it to be to put it on table.

3. I can’t even give you a ballpark number without seeing the tool. I don’t know how many crosscut saws (I’m always buying crosscut saws) have come to me described as great condition only to find the teeth sharpened down to nubs. I had a customer drive all the way down here from Bangor to sell me a 2 man crosscut saw only to find out that it had a nasty end to end twist in the blade. I can work that out of a 24″ saw blade, it’s near impossible on a 5′ saw blade.

4. It doesn’t matter how nice the blade looks, if a wooden saw handle is missing pieces, it’s kaput. I expect to replace axe handles, no handsaw I’ve seen yet was worth the time and effort to replace a seriously damaged or missing handle.

5. Since the restored tools I produce are intended to be used again, whatever your old/vintage/antique tool is has to be actually useful. The shelves loaded with different profiles of the old wooden molding planes are undeniably cool but they were such a pain in the backside to use that there’s pretty close to zero demand for them.

I’m not trying to get anyone to sell me a $1600 Stanley #1 plane for $10. I know what I can do for an end result from almost any tool, what that end result will sell for, and how much effort and expertise it takes on my part to get it to that point. What’s left over is the value of the raw tool itself. If you want me to give you an offer on an old tool, that’s the formula it has to meet to work.

That said, I’m almost always looking to purchase vintage tools in “raw” condition. A few hand saws out of a shop to a pile of crosscut saws and axes out of a barn, it doesn’t matter what kind of a tool it is, one or one hundred, let me know what you’ve got!

Visit me at any of the following locations:

Elm Plaza, Waterville, ME (Mondays)
Tractor Supply, Skowhegan, ME (Tuesday and Wednesday)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1 & Log Cabin Rd, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an
email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

SwiftWater Edge Tool Works provides mobile sharpening services across Maine and mail in services around the world for handsaws, carbide blades, planer knives, hand planes, chain saws, knives, scissors, hair clippers, router bits, and almost any blade!

Saw shop tech: When to restore or replace vintage tool handles.

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

In vintage tools, as with almost everything that falls under the umbrella of “antiques”, there’s a lot of argument that tools are “ruined” by altering the “as found” condition of them. I’ve talked previously about restoring the actual tools themselves for use, I’m going to talk here about what to and no to do with handles.

The first thing is simple. Any tool handle has to be SAFE (unless you’re just planning to hang the tool on the wall and admire it). The best looking vintage axe handle is worthless if it’s dry rotted inside the axe eye. If you’re chopping a tree and you break an axe handle and send a 4lb head with 2 razor sharp bits flying out of control, someone is getting hurt. Do NOT hang on to even a questionable handle for the sake of keeping the “antique value”.

Do I ever put effort into salvaging an old handle that might have problems with it? Sure! I recently overhauled a 3 1/2lb poll axe, nothing special but it was set up as a splitting axe with a 28″ short handle. This length of handle is nearly impossible to find with the large eye size of the full size poll axe and I wanted to keep this as a splitting axe vs changing it to a full length 36″ handle. In this case, I removed the old (and rotten) iron wedge, removed and reseated the handle so the head would set a little lower and allow removing a small amount of deteriorated wood, and rewedged it.

Second, the handle has to be solid. Handles with excessive cracking that can’t be stabilized with glue and handles missing pieces are candidates for the trash can. It doesn’t matter how nice and rare your vintage saw is, if the handle falls apart while you’re using it, it’s worthless. Saw handles with missing pieces and broken horns, split chisel handles, hand plane totes with broken horns, old tool handles that have been chewed by mice, they all need to be repaired before using them.

I recently had to tell a customer I couldn’t do anything with an old family heirloom high carbon steel kitchen knife. Too many years of use with loose rivets had caused the handle to partially split and the wood was so deteriorated that it wouldn’t hold glue.

Finally, the handle MUST be finished to stand the environment that it’s going to be used in. You might be able to get away with a handsaw with only a trace of original finish that is used only in the shop but a 1 man crosscut saw used outdoors in the rain, snow, damp, and temperature changes will be destroyed in short order without its finish.

For my tool handles, I used an old school boiled linseed oil finish that closely replicates the look of the original with a modern acrylic clearcoat instead of the original varnish, shellac, or lacquer. This gives a handle that looks almost exactly like the original except with a much more practical finish.

In short, don’t worry about preserving the “antique value” of a vintage tool you intend to use. Stay true to the original appearance but make sure the handle is safe, solid, and well protected.

Visit me at any of the following locations:

Elm Plaza, Waterville, ME (Mondays)
Tractor Supply, Skowhegan, ME (Tuesday and Wednesday)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1 & Log Cabin Rd, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an
email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

SwiftWater Edge Tool Works provides mobile sharpening services across Maine and mail in services around the world for handsaws, carbide blades, planer knives, hand planes, chain saws, knives, scissors, hair clippers, router bits, and almost any blade!

Tales from the saw sharpening shop: Restored vintage tools for Christmas, 33 days and counting!

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

Do you know someone who would appreciate a nice set of quality tools for Christmas? Before you head off to the big box stores to get the latest shiny junk made in China, take a look at our quality restored vintage “made in USA” tools (I’ll be featuring one or two great tools from inventory every day until Christmas!). Hand saws, crosscut saws, axes, classic woodworking tools, you don’t see these in Walmart!

First up is a very nice WWII vintage Disston 1 man crosscut saw. This saw is a bit unique, since I couldn’t see any sign that the blade had EVER been sharpened. The blade has been cleaned, sharpened, and set, and still has a faint Disston etch. The handle has been refinished with an old school linseed oil finish for the best protection and classic look. $75.

Second up is a great matched pair of WWII vintage Disston D-7 hand saws. This pair is the standard carpenter’s set including an 8 tpi crosscut and a matching 6 tpi rip saw. These blades are in spectacular condition with bright readable etches. The handle of the rip saw has had the top horn repaired and both handles have the old school linseed oil finish that really sets these saws apart. $60 for the pair.

To purchase any of the tools shown here, please email saw@swiftwatertel.com, call 207-399-7108, or visit me at any of the following locations:

Rt 201 (former Champion Glass), Topsham, ME (Tuesdays)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

Tales from the saw sharpening shop: The Pawn Stars Effect

Vern Burke SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

In this post, I’m going to talk about an evil trend in old tools that I used to curse Antiques Roadshow for. Now, as entertaining as shows like Pawn Stars and American Pickers are, they’ve made this even worse.

I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve been out with my refurbed old planes and handsaws on display and had person after person stroll by and comment “Oh, so that’s what my old tools are worth”. Well, in short, NO. These shows convince everyone their old junk is worth a fortune and, after listening to the crowing about how much money the pawn boys and the pickers expect to make, anyone buying this stuff is just trying to take them to the cleaners.

So, here’s a list of why your tools probably aren’t worth what mine are:

1. Mean and unclean. You’re not going to get top prices from anyone for a dirty tool. Rust, pitch, paint splatters, handles painted with house paint and a brush, I think I’ve seen nearly everything that you could coat a plane or a handsaw with. There’s a reason your tools don’t look like mine. It takes time, effort, care, and skill to recover a filthy tool.

2. Amateur cleaning. Vintage blades with a bright polish, etches polished off the blades, tools derusted with naval jelly, sandblasted tools, I think I’ve seen nearly every awful thing someone could do to a tool in the name of making it look pretty. Damage your tool by destroying a delicate etch or original label and that’s what you have, a damaged tool.

3. Amateur refinishing. Covering the tool with a coat of varnish, painting a handle with latex paint (usually with a brush), stripping and repainting a perfectly good japanned surface. Yeek.

4. Amateur repairs. Bad welding or brazing repairs, handles repaired with household glue and almost every kind of fastener not made for the job that the local hardware store stocks, vintage fasteners replaced with obviously different modern ones, bent blades damaged by misguided attempts to straighten them, as Red Green says, duct tape, the handyman’s secret weapon.

5. Dull blades and amateur sharpening jobs. Nobody wants a tool to use that has a dull blade. Mess up the edge on a plane iron or misfile or misset a handsaw and, even if you can sucker someone into buying it, they’re going to be seriously unhappy campers.

A beautifully restored vintage tool, cleaned, sharpened, and refinished appropriately, is a joy to look at and use, but they don’t come into the shop that way and there’s no magic to get them from nightmare to sweet dream.

Saw, knife, and tool sharpening, special event.

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

This Monday, May 30 (Memorial Day), the SwiftWater Edge Tool Works mobile sharpening rig will be at the Arundel Flea Market at the corner of US Route 1 and Log Cabin Rd in Arundel, Maine!

Full mobile sharpening services will be available for walk-in customers all day. Bring your knives, saws, garden tools, lawnmower blades, chainsaw chains, etc and get them sharpened on the spot!

Also available will be a large selection of restored high quality vintage tools such as wood planes (Stanley, Crescent, Worth, Fulton, Dunlap, and others), carpenter’s and woodworker’s hand saws (Disston, Stanley, and others), circular saws (Delta, Nicholson, Oldham, and others), and farm and garden tools (grass scythes, bush scythes, hay forks and hay rope, etc), as well as other miscellaneous tools and items. As always, our restored tools have been thoroughly cleaned, repaired (if required), and sharpened to an unbeatable edge, ready to get to work!

Visit us on Monday, May 30, at the Arundel Flea Market and get sharp!

Old tool restoration: Worth #3 smoothing plane.

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works
Biddeford, Maine

This is the first of my occasional posts highlighting old tool restoration projects in the shop. All tools are restored with an eye towards making them good, solid, and attractive user tools, not restoring them to out of the box new, museum perfection. As such, these tools may still show signs of use and imperfections. This honors the history of the tool while still resulting in a great user tool that’s also aesthetically pleasing.

This project is a Worth #3 smoothing plane, pretty much a direct copy of the Stanley Bailey #3 smoothing plane. This particular example came from my family’s old farm, complete with well worn tote and knob, and a coating of surface rust.

The plane was disassembled and most of the bulk of the rust was removed mechanically and the parts were cleaned of any grease or oil. Next, I cleaned all of the metal parts thoroughly in a citric acid bath.

The wooden tote and knob had less than 10% of the original finish left on them and a lot of ground in dirt, so refinishing was in order. Since it would have been difficult to clean the tote and the knob enough to make a transparent finish look decent, and since we’re going for nice user grade and not museum, I opted to smooth the tote and the knob and coat them with a nice gloss black finish consisting of primer, black enamel, and a clearcoat for protection.

Finally, the cutting iron was sharpened on our sharpening system and honed to a razor edge on the 100+ year old super fine oil stone, also from the old family farm.

The end result is a good quality, good looking, excellent user plane that should last many many years!