Cool Old Tools

[1967redrider]

Mom passed back in November. My sisters and I are going through Mom and Dad's estate. Of course, being the tool guy I am, I have been going through the garage. I found my dad's old fencing tool. I haven't seen it since the early 90s probably - didn't even know he still had it. I remember this hanging out of his back pocket when we built a fence around our place (12 acres) in the summer of 1971. And we used it for fence repairs for the next 20 years or so until they moved back into town.

My hands have seen these a few thousand times, very handy.

[Unk]

True Temper Tomahawk hatchet, and a Trail blazer machete. The machete was made in Japan. We have had these since the 1960s. I think Dad replaced the handle on the hatchet in the 1970s. I used both of these a lot as a kid, clearing brush and limbs. I re-hung the hatchet handle, and cleaned them both up a bit. That duct tape had been on the machete handle for around 55 years. Took me a while to get it off. The sheath is a newer one I bought. I think it originally had a canvas OD military type sheath back in the day, but it fell apart.

[FRJ]

Nice cleanup on those old tools, Mike.

[royal0014]

Saw these at a flea mall a couple of weeks ago, remembered someone has a collection of Stanley's ....

[GSPTOPDOG]

True Temper Tomahawk hatchet, and a Trail blazer machete. The machete was made in Japan. We have had these since the 1960s. I think Dad replaced the handle on the hatchet in the 1970s. I used both of these a lot as a kid, clearing brush and limbs. I re-hung the hatchet handle, and cleaned them both up a bit. That duct tape had been on the machete handle for around 55 years. Took me a while to get it off. The sheath is a newer one I bought. I think it originally had a canvas OD military type sheath back in the day, but it fell apart.

Sweet, sweet, sweet Unk!!! My kind of tools!!!

[Unk]

Saw these at a flea mall a couple of weeks ago, remembered someone has a collection of Stanley's ....

I've got some!

[Unk]

Sweet, sweet, sweet Unk!!! My kind of tools!!!

Thanks TD!

[royal0014]

I've got some!

I like the display!
The block plane in the last picture I posted was huge! Over two feet long.
For reference, that's an actual old milk can it's sitting on

[Unk]

I've got some!

I like the display!
The block plane in the last picture I posted was huge! Over two feet long.
For reference, that's an actual old milk can it's sitting on

Thanks Chris. The planes are kind of bulky to store, so I built the plane till a few years ago.

That's a big ol' wooden jointer plane! Similar to the cast iron Stanley No. 8 (far right in my plane till). They are 24" long and weigh about 10 lbs. It's an upper body workout to use, but I use it more often than you would think. It's great for jointing / flattening the edge of a board.

[FRJ]

so I built the plane till a few years ago.

Nice work on that plane till, Mike

[FRJ]

so I built the plane till a few years ago.

Nice work on that plane till, Mike.

[Unk]

so I built the plane till a few years ago.

Nice work on that plane till, Mike

Thanks Joe

[Unk]

Here's some more old tools out of my mom's house. An axe mattock, and a pick axe. These were both in my grandma's house, and I used them as a kid (she lived nearby on our land), and then Dad got them after grandma passed. So these are 3rd generation (at least). The mattock was made by Hubbard & Co (1843-1958). I couldn't find any markings at all on the pick. But I have been around these two tools since the 1960s, and they were old then. I am guessing 1920s or 1930s or earlier. Both handles have a pretty good bow in them, but that doesn't impact their usability. I just wire-wheeled off the rust, cement, and dirt, sharpened them, scraped and sanded the handles, and put a coat of BLO on everything. I will find a place on my wall of tools to hang these - but the wall is getting full!

Next up is an actual grubbing hoe that was also my grandmothers.

[treefarmer]

Here's some more old tools out of my mom's house. An axe mattock, and a pick axe. These were both in my grandma's house, and I used them as a kid (she lived nearby on our land), and then Dad got them after grandma passed. So these are 3rd generation (at least). The mattock was made by Hubbard & Co (1843-1958). I couldn't find any markings at all on the pick. But I have been around these two tools since the 1960s, and they were old then. I am guessing 1920s or 1930s or earlier. Both handles have a pretty good bow in them, but that doesn't impact their usability. I just wire-wheeled off the rust, cement, and dirt, sharpened them, scraped and sanded the handles, and put a coat of BLO on everything. I will find a place on my wall of tools to hang these - but the wall is getting full!

Next up is an actual grubbing hoe that was also my grandmothers.

Unk, these old family tools are really special!
We've got several here that go back several years and a special one that my wife almost wore out in probably 50 years of her gardening. I'll post a picture of them in a day or so.
Your displays are always so organized and neat, those two words are missing from my vocabulary.
Treefarmer

[Unk]

I now have two axe mattocks. I bought the Bridge Tool (Shapleigh) one at an estate sale a few years ago. The Cyclone was my grandmothers. Both were actually made by Hubbard & Co (the "H" in the federal shield). The Bridge Tool one I bought was used WAY more than the Cyclone I inherited, as evidenced by the shorter blade.

Also, I picked up these Bahco scrapers at an estate sale for a couple of bucks a few years ago. I use them all the time, and they make short work of scraping all the dirt, grime, oil, etc off of the handles. Much easier, quicker, and much less dust in your eyes, nose, and shop than sanding on the handles. They are very satisfying to use. I keep them sharp and burnished.

Bridge Tool was a secondary line sold by Shapleigh. As far as Cyclone....here's what AI says:
Relationship to Larger Tool Companies: The Cyclone Seeder Co. brand was later acquired and managed by larger, established manufacturing firms under the umbrella of long-handled tool companies. The company is historically linked to the development of early American agricultural tools.

[Unk]

Unk, these old family tools are really special!
We've got several here that go back several years and a special one that my wife almost wore out in probably 50 years of her gardening. I'll post a picture of them in a day or so.
Your displays are always so organized and neat, those two words are missing from my vocabulary.
Treefarmer

Thanks TF! I know gardening tools aren't that exciting - As a matter of fact, when I was a kid I tried to avoid that axe mattock as much as possible. But as I've grown older I appreciate the old stuff more. I guess because I am "old stuff" as well. My wife was planting some red yucca plants along the driveway a couple of weeks ago. Our soil is caliche and rock. But the pick and mattock made quick work of digging the holes after the shovels proved unable to get through our rocky soil. Sometimes the "old stuff" just works better. I'm looking forward to seeing your post.

[Unk]

I started working on my grandparent's grub hoe today. It was so coated in cement, I couldn't see any markings on it. I started on the wire wheel, but it wasn't making any progress on the cement. So I tried chipping it off with a cold chisel and hammer - but that was also going nowhere fast. I finally got out the angle grinder and put a strip disc on it, and that was the ticket. It was a little more of an aggressive tool than I wanted to use, but it worked out fine. Turns out the hoe is made by D & H Scovil Company (1844-1965) of Higganum, CT. I did a little research and found some ads for their "self-sharpening" hoes. So I got the blade cleaned up, scraped and sanded the handle and filled in some cracks with glue and sawdust. I also got out one of my old pre-1880 "cut" (square) nails to secure the head to the handle, as per original. I'm letting the glue dry overnight, and will coat with BLO tomorrow.

You can see a faint line horizontally across the middle of the blade. I'm not sure if this means it is a "half-bright" or "all-bright" model listed in the ads.

[Unk]

It's amazing what a rabbit hole you can go down just researching an old hoe. Here's a interesting little video of the Daniel & Hezekiah Scovil Co. in Higganum, CT from the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/vsctvct-The ... igganum_CT

You guys have to be impressed that I haven't made one joke about hoes throughout this whole series of posts.

[C-WADE7]

It's amazing what a rabbit hole you can go down just researching an old hoe. Here's a interesting little video of the Daniel & Hezekiah Scovil Co. in Higganum, CT from the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/vsctvct-The ... igganum_CT

You guys have to be impressed that I haven't made one joke about hoes throughout this whole series of posts.

We always called those “eye” hoes because of the handle attachment style. I’ve carried one through hundreds of acres of corn rows hoeing sunflowers. That and hoeing thistles was our punishment as boys growing up.

[Unk]

We always called those “eye” hoes because of the handle attachment style. I’ve carried one through hundreds of acres of corn rows hoeing sunflowers. That and hoeing thistles was our punishment as boys growing up.

Wade, my Grandparents lived - and my mom grew up - in a small cotton town out in West Texas up on the Llano Estacado, just south of Lubbock. Cotton fields spread out in all 4 directions as far as the eye could see. I am sure this hoe chopped a lot of cotton. After my grandmother moved back to our land in Parker Co., I remember my grandmother (born 1900), and her older sister (my great Aunt - born 1888) using this hoe in their garden back in the 1970s when I was a kid.

[C-WADE7]

Wade, my Grandparents lived - and my mom grew up - in a small cotton town out in West Texas up on the Llano Estacado…

We farmed in N. Central Tx in near Frisco. We grew wheat, oats milo and corn. I’m the first generation to not farm there, but if you’re in Parker County you know what Frisco has become. I’m still fairly young(not 50 yet) but grew up farming and wish my boys could have had the same experience.

[Reverand]

We always called that an "onion hoe", but I don't know why. But I have used them!!

[treefarmer]

Falling in line with the on going theme of hoes, we moved to the Florida Panhandle in '73 from Orange County, Florida. Naturally when you move, you bring all your worldly possessions with you. Among our possessions was a "scuffle hoe" that I had used hoeing orange trees when I was younger. I don't remember where I got my hoe but do know it was used and of course has had several handles.
Nobody in our new community had ever seen a hoe like it! Several folks had to have the hardware store order one for them. The triangle shaped hoe slides back and forth, cutting weeds coming and going, no chopping with this style. The scuffle hoes usually had extra long handles that allowed the operator to hoe under the edges of low hanging orange branches and of course they work to keep a garden clean.
We obtained several more from Miss Joy's dad, one had a short 5 foot handle that she used for close to 50 years in our gardens and her flower beds.
Here's a few pictures showing showing what they look like and I was amazed how much metal was gone from her "personal hoe" in 15 years!

The hoe on the right was Joy's, I didn't do much with mine.

My hoe is almost 7 feet in length, hers is a bit over 5 feet.

A spare that we got from Grandpa's stash. I'll probably not be needing to put this on in a handle.

Scuffle hoe in use 15 years ago.

Compare this picture to the 1st picture and see how much metal went missing in 15 years.

My excuse for not wearing out my scuffle hoe like she did is that I cultivated with a Lilliston rolling cultivator behind the tractor, she tried to keep the weeds and grass that was between the plants in the rows. We choose not to use herbicide on the vegetables.
Treefarmer

[GSPTOPDOG]

I started working on my grandparent's grub hoe today. It was so coated in cement, ...I'm letting the glue dry overnight, and will coat with BLO tomorrow.

You can see a faint line horizontally across the middle of the blade. I'm not sure if this means it is a "half-bright" or "all-bright" model listed in the ads.

Nice clean up Unk ... If you feel like it, there is a Ho' thread Under: Other Sharp Objects, You could always post there in the "What up hoe?" thread.

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... e#p1002636

[doglegg]

Falling in line with the on going theme of hoes, we moved to the Florida Panhandle in '73 from Orange County, Florida. Naturally when you move, you bring all your worldly possessions with you. Among our possessions was a "scuffle hoe" that I had used hoeing orange trees when I was younger. I don't remember where I got my hoe but do know it was used and of course has had several handles.
Nobody in our new community had ever seen a hoe like it! Several folks had to have the hardware store order one for them. The triangle shaped hoe slides back and forth, cutting weeds coming and going, no chopping with this style. The scuffle hoes usually had extra long handles that allowed the operator to hoe under the edges of low hanging orange branches and of course they work to keep a garden clean.
We obtained several more from Miss Joy's dad, one had a short 5 foot handle that she used for close to 50 years in our gardens and her flower beds.
Here's a few pictures showing showing what they look like and I was amazed how much metal was gone from her "personal hoe" in 15 years!004.JPG006.JPG009.JPG5-12-11 1057a.jpg5-12-11 1057am.jpg
My excuse for not wearing out my scuffle hoe like she did is that I cultivated with a Lilliston rolling cultivator behind the tractor, she tried to keep the weeds and grass that was between the plants in the rows. We choose not to use herbicide on the vegetables.
Treefarmer

Cool tool Philip. And great pic of Miss Joy using it.