Even in the era of the cordless electric drill, the stories in simple wooden hand tools appeal to collectors. Collectible Hand Tools offers a broad overview of the tools that craftsmen brought to the new world – and many North American originals – as they began to shave, carve, rivet, gauge, mark, saw, and join together their lives in the 200 years before the creation of mass-produced tools. Six categories of tools feature examples of traditional European and American designs for working wood, metal, and leather, as well as the hardest-working tools of all: those associated with building trades, including over a dozen specialized hammer shapes. The final chapter looks at unusual tool designs.

With over 400 full-color photographs accompanied by detailed captions and a section of useful addresses to guide the curious, Collectible Hand Tools is the perfect introduction to an absorbing hobby.