I can only speak for myself but I love tools. I am sure most people who are reading this are of the same mind. When I first started learning to become a goldsmith I would look at catalogs of tools and think, “Wow when I get one of those I can learn to pave or hand engrave.”
I would spend my whole paycheck on tools every week – forget food forget bills, I wanted tools and heck I had friends in the food business they would feed me. I remember buying my first flexshaft then immediately lusting after a quick change hand piece. I was committed to becoming a goldsmith when I bought my first rolling mill. I still have it -the biggest cavallin they made, darn near starved to death to get it. That baby was 1,000 bucks 18 years ago. New tools are nice but as I have gotten older I see the beauty in tools owned by others. That is soundin’ pretty sappy, but let me explain.
I got a butt load of gravers from a retired hand engraver. He had used those tools his whole life and they were sharpened and ground perfectly. I have made my own gravers but none worked as well as Nick’s. It was like being given a fifty year head start. I also have Nick’s lathe – a small chrome jewelers lathe. He engraved his name on it right by the headstock, maybe I will engrave my name on it someday. Some of you may have seen my video that I made of my shop in the earlier blog. I have a lot of machines, they are all pretty old. The newest is from 1957. I sorta have a retirement home for obsolete machinery. Today’s culture seems to thrive on youth but I will choose wisdom any day. I like all the marks and wear spots on my old machines, my mill has this black stain on the corner of the table. I could never figure out how it got their until last summer when I was using it and a drop of sweat landed right in that spot and then it became clear how that got there. All the people who have run this thing since the 40’s have been sweating on it in the same place. My lathe which has WWII service tags on it has a smooth spot warn into the head stock from everyone leaning on it while they run the machine. Imagine how many people have run that thing in the past decades.
About ten years ago while I was at work a gold locket came in it was hand made in 18k rose gold with mine cut diamonds and seed pearls. The instructions were to grind the engraving off the back of the locket. The engraving read, “From Henry to Mary August 7, 1877. ” It was all done by hand beautifully. After drooling over it for a few minutes I thought no. Then Hell no, I will not grind the engraving off of this, these people can kiss my harry goldsmith butt. I went up and told them that I would buy it before I ground that off. Well that was easy, they sold it to me and used the money to buy a shiny new one that was stamped out by the millions in china but did not say from Henry to Mary August 7, 1877.
kevinpotter
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Perhaps there is a Toolaholics Anonynous for folks like us. I do not limit myself to jeweler’s tools either. Auctions are forbidden to me, but I still go. Recently the estate of a deceased High School woodshop teacher was on the block. First I scoped out the tools – rusted, coated with cobwebs and the occasional mud-dauber nest. These treasurers had been moldering for several years while the kids argued over the heirlooms. I spied a clutch of yard tools, each made from a single piece of steel. When the tools came up for bids, I innocently asked “Are there any hoes?” Well, that brought the house down. Yes, I bought these quality tools, then a bucket full of modified screwdrivers – he must have made a new awl everytime he misplaced the old one! Next was a drill sharpener… then a router, and every time, the auctioneer joked about the “hoe lady” and her purchases. Oh well, I got oodles of quality tools for much less than a single new one would cost at the local hardware store.
Hmmm. I wonder if there might be a jeweler’s tool auction next.
Thanks, Kevin for your entertaining stories. You rock!
Well Kevin, I can honestly say you absolutely do NOT speak only for yourself. I am sympatico to the N’th degree on that, as I know many of us are.
When I was training as an engineer just after leavin education, some 30 year ago, I was taught that a man who never made a mistake had obviously never made a damn thing in his life… just don’t do it again!
True stories of mad customers , well lets face it, do this for 20 years ! and as for a loony exchange scheme I think you gotta get your kicks where you can .
Great shop video , it is perfect, engineering one side, Jewellery the other. I have just found a premises that is perfect and on 2 floors, 100 amp 3 phase power et al and am planning a very similar setup, get all my tools out so I can use them properly, yes just as yourself I am a madman for tools and tools of quality, hell you cant carve metals with plasic!! best will in the world, I was the only bench jeweller in my first jobbing workshop to take mine home in the evening, I had one set , and a bench at home, I spent as much as I could to get what I needed to do what I had to do, yes totally, maybe too much but the sacrifices then made possible what I can now do. My kids try to steer me away from the tools at flea markets and such, apparently I have enough tools ( ahh so young, so naive!) I have an inherent distaste for the shoddy, cheap, throwaway stuff they churn out these days, might as well just put your money on the charcoal and with your biggest nozzle, waste all your oxy and propane on it, that way you really could be throwing away good money after bad.
I will have the upper floor of metalgraffiti up and running ( all being well) by the end of the week and will be posting pics etc in due course.
Keep up the good work Kevin
Your philosophy is shared by many I assure You.
When another jeweler friend learned he was dying he called me and said he wanted to make me a really good deal on his tools because he liked my work and knew I would use them. Ironically, he had a few tools from another jeweler friend of his who had died. I did not realize then, that he knew something I did not. That when I pick up one of his hand tools to use there is always a moment when my thoughts return to him.
Pattie
Pattie
Yep me too. I never melt such old stuff down. I always offer to buy/swop gold. Checked your video out. I understand where you come from bro’.
Hans