Category: Tools
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Finial Mould
A useful tool with an interesting provenance. Sometime prior to June of 2008 this item was listed on eBay. One night Tinsmith Jim Kimpell of High Horse Trading woke in the middle of the night with the thought to search eBay using the term Finial Mold and this item had been listed. He was worried…
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Compass or Dividers
What is the difference between a compass and dividers? A compass has a pencil on one end today but the answer has changed from years past. Websters 1828 dictionary reads: compass or compasses, [or a pair of compasses, so named from its legs, but pair is superfluous or improper, and the singular number compass is the preferable name,…
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Swages
We posted, in the photo gallery, a dozen swedges. We only refer to one as a swage. That tool was made in England. We have never heard anyone from England pronounce the word but textbooks from England spell it S W A G E and we have even seen it even spelled SUAGE. So, if…
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May & Co
From the 1853 Massachusette Register One of our first acquisitions was this piece from Samuel May & Co. They were a company in Boston MA that sold A W Whitney Machines. The cast iron top is stamped A W Whitney and the MAY & CO BOSTON is on the handle near the journal or box.…
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Our Favorite Objects
Our favorite objects are Tin Snips. In our collection of brand marked pre-1870 snips we only have one pair that are duplicates. Some day we would like to deaccession the extra pair in trade for something we do not have.
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Our Favorite Object
Our favorite object.