Hand tools and where to find them

It is a fact that hand tools have fallen out of fashion. I could wax on about how we've lost touch with a slower, more deliberate and more artisanal time, but I am choosing not to. Partly because I don't think that's entirely fair.

My current hand planes from L to R: An Indian made block plane
from Grizzly. A used Craftsman block plane (eBay). A super cheap #33?
plane from Harbor Freight. A Stanley #3 smoothing plane from a
flea market. An unmarked #4 clone from Grizzly. A used
Craftsman #4 clone (eBay). An unmarked #5 jack plane from
Grizzly. Lastly a used Craftsman jointer plane (eBay).

There are a lot of advantages to those modern conveniences. For example, we don't burn down our houses as much because candles or kerosene lamps (not to speak of indoor air quality). Our streets aren't piled in animal dung. If we don't finish something, we can put it in the fridge for later. If you would like some perspective about the state of the world and modern comforts, you should check out this bit between Louis CK and Conan O'Brien.

But back to the point. Power tools have replaced hand tools. If you want to use hand tools, it will cost you. It's a fact. Either you will pay premium prices for new quality tools or you will pay in time to restore older quality tools or tuning less than ideal new tools so that they perform like their betters.

There are several vendors that sell new quality tools. My personal favorite is Traditional Woodworker. They have one of the best selections of new hand tools in one place at the most reasonable prices they can manage. A runner up would be Woodcraft/Japan Woodworker. I'm not sure of their corporate arrangement but they are affiliated. Woodcraft has a very broad selection of tools both powered and hand. Japan Woodworker is almost entirely hand tools but with an obvious emphasis on Japanese hand tools. The Ferrari of hand tools would be the twin manufacturers of Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen. There are many other retailers that I could mention but I don't want to bore you however there is one more that I feel I should mention mostly because I have purchased so many items from them. That would be Grizzly Industries. Hand tools feel like more of a novelty item for them but at least they do sell them.

My specialty planes in columns from L to R:
An Indian made rabbet plane from Grizzly. A used Stanley #147
tongue and groove plane (eBay). An unmarked small router plane
from Grizzly. An unmarked spokeshave (Grizzly). A used Stanley
#71 router plane (eBay). An Indian made shoulder plane from
Traditional Woodworker. A Taiwanese made plough plane from
Japan Woodworker.

Now, one could spend a great deal of cash outfitting a shop through these fine merchants. As a librarian working in the Mid-West, I do not have the kind of cash flow that it would take to pay the premium prices so, to save some dough, I frequently spend the time making sub-standard tools perform better.

The obvious place to find a wealth of good used tools is eBay. A word of caution though. Hand tools have become collectors items. People buy them who never intend to use them and they have driven up the prices of used tools. As a result, it is not uncommon to find a Pre-War #4 Stanley smoothing plane fetching the same price as a precision made #4 from Veritas (see the Lee Valley tools link). So, you can pay $200 for an old plane that will require some TLC or a new plane that you probably won't even have to sharpen first. Be cautious of listings with words like Vintage or Rare. They're probably over priced from the get go.

Another surprising place to find tools is Etsy. You have to be savvy but there are treasures to be found there. Pay close attention to the photos and do your research before you buy. I find some of the listings here to be a bit vague. I don't suspect deceit as much as I suspect ignorance. Many times people listing here don't seem to know much about the items and fail to include info that is important for an informed decision.

Lastly, I would like to advise you to bump through your local flea markets and swap meets. There is a hundred years of tool inventory out there to be had. I can't believe it's all in current circulation.

Be wise. Do your research. In subsequent posts, I will do a sort of what-to-look-for for each major tool category. I will also do several tool restoration tales for your edification.