Well we're off to Spoonfest tomorrow so I've spent a bit of time sharpening my tools and on Robin Wood's advice I've decided to mark my tools with my initials. As many carvers use the same makers for their tools there will probably be lots of the same tool knocking about so it is probably a good idea to mark them in some way. I've decided to burn my initials on using a pyrography iron.
At first I didn't like the idea of marking my tools in this way, but then it reminded me of the owners marks I often see on the old tools I pick up at car boot sales. I think I read somewhere that this was a requirement for insurance purposes. You can just make out the name A.W. Lovett on this old bow saw.
I most commonly see these marks on old wooden planes and whenever I see one at a car boot sale I always check the owners mark in the hope that I will see one with the name A. Banham on it. Arthur Banham was a musical instrument case maker in Birmingham. He died when my Mother was seven and so i have never met my Grandad, but I feel close to him when I look at the things that he made and also when I make things using tools that would have been familiar to him. My Mom still has an old pin hammer that belonged to him and my Dad remembers seeing some of his old planes. To own and use a tool that once belonged to and was used often by him would be amazing for me. I'll keep looking.
No comments:
Post a Comment