barnes-1.jpg (16508 bytes) Antique Stanley Rule & Level Spoke Shaves Larry & Carole Meeker
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Antique & Collectible Tools

We buy antique and vintage tools. We conduct sales of Antique woodworking tools & planes at our sister website
www.Patented-Antiques.com.

Past sales results for antique & collectible tools and many other antiques and collectibles we have sold are linked in the Lufkin # 388 (32 1/2) 1' 4 Fold Boxwood Rulecolumn on the right. Please explore those pages. Other types of antiques we deal in and seek are discussed on pages linked in the left column.

Antique tools from all  trades such as carpentry, cabinetmaking, shipbuilding, pattern makers, and others are of interest. Vintage machinist tools such as squares, surface gages, calipers and dividers by makers such as Starrett, D. B. & S, Darling, Brown and Sharpe, Lufkin, Sawyer, Stevens, and many others can be of interest as well.

Antique Levels / Inclinometers

An example of antique and vintage tools whose values can range from very little to thousands are levels and especially examples known as inclinometers. 

During the heyday ofHelb Railroad Level American inventiveness and ingenuity Americans designed, patented, and produced some of the finest levels known.

The best known large companies were Stanley Rule & Level Co. Stratton Bros, Davis Level and Tool  Co, Jennings and many others.  Many rare and unusual levels / inclinometers were patented & produced by small obscure makers that are very rare and are actively sought by collectors of antique tools.

The most popular and desirable type of collectible levels are known as inclinometerPatented Inclinmeter Davis Levels.  These leveling devices typically have dials or pendulums to determine the slope or pitch rather than the typical liquid filled bubble vial seen in most levels. Some used small suspended plumb bobs or liquid as the indicator. Many were odd-ball patented designs. Some inclinometers like the Rufus Porter example were works of art and are now very desirable and valuablemf217vise.jpg (20330 bytes) as collectibles.  To see past sale results for different types of levels and Inclinometers click the appropriate links in the right column. 

Within each category of antique tools there are standout examples which are worth far more than other more common examples.  For example, with chisels, Stanley Everlast #40 chisels can sell for $100 or more each when found in mint condition and as part of a set.  Later #60 Stanley chisels are lucky to sell for more than $10.00 each.  Or take Carpenters or Ship Builders Slicks, which are large oversize chisels. Examples by top makers like White, or Swan, and some others can sell for $200 or more, while those by lesser makers like Greenlee, or Pexto sell for less.  Crank neck or gouge style slicks by desirable makers like Barton, or White can also sell for 300 or more.

Antique & Vintage
Leatherworking Tools

We Buy Antique Tools and Collections of Antique and Vintage Collectible Tools.

I deal in all types of antique and vintage tools including vintage antique Portable Leather Working Viseleatherworking tools such as those used by saddlemakers, cobblers, and others. I will picture and discuss some of the specific vintage leather tools that I typically deal in and am looking to buy.

If you are looking to buy antique leather tools please visit our sales webpage at www.Patented-Antiques.com

If you have any quality vintage tools you want to sell, please contact me at LCM@AntiqBuyer.com and we can work out a deal.

Some of the most famous names of makers of leather tools are Osborne, Gomph, Rose, Lyle, Sauerbier, Dixon, Huber, Wiss, anLeather working Toold a host of others. Many of these famous 19th century leather tool makers were concentrated in and around Newark, New Jersey during the heyday of production from the early to mid 1800's and later.

One type of leather tool sought is referred to as leather Osborne Leather Splitter splitters, or skivers. These devices were used to make different thicknesses of material by passing them through a  knife under pressure.  Osborne was the most prolific and well known maker, and they offered several different versions like the one pictured in the top left corner with the twist handle set up to lock in the thickness. They also sold a version with a pliers-like adjuster. Pictured to the left is a Krebs Patent leather splitter which is a very rare precision piece of equipment and much harder to find than most other leather splitters. 

On the right are two early versions of leather splitters. One is from NH and the second is marked Osborne who I assume bought theVintage Leather Splitter original patentee out.  On these examples the table flexes to regulate the cut instead of the cutter moving.

The next leather tools pictured are draw gauges. These come Antique Leather Toolsin a variety of different configurations.  Draw Gauges were made by a number of different makers over the years. They were designed to cut strips or belts of leather.  The most common variety are all steel in construction, then there are the steel and rosewood versions, up a notch are brass and rosewood examples.

Some draw gauges have unusual patented features like the twist head Latta's patent. Another unusual example has an operable trigger toleather working tools release the bar.  Finally there are  homemade or blacksmith made examples that range in workmanship from crude and plain to works of art with inlays and file work.

I also buy small leather tools like those pictured here for working leather. These antique leatherworking toolsare often  referred to as saddle makers tools, but were used in other leatherworking trades such as the shoemaker or cobbler, upholsterer, and others. Some were specifically designed to shave soles of shoes, but there is cross over potential in the trades for almost any of these tools. Those that hold the most interestAntique Leather Tools have rosewood handles and are usually stamped with the maker's name such as Gomph or Osborne. Later or more recent examples have hardwood handles and lack the feel, look and overall quality that these earlier vintage examples have.

Vintage Leather Tools The leather working tools shown are examples of the caliber, condition and quality of these tools that I primarily deal in and want to buy.

If you have quality antique or vintage leatherworking tools that you want to sell, antique leather working tools please contact us at AntiqBuyer@gmail.com providing me with as many details as possible. Thank you!!

To see examples of antique or vintage leatherworking tools that I currently have for sale please go to our sister site at www.Patented-Antiques.com and visit the misc. tool sale pages you will find there.

Antique Braces / Drills / Augers etc.

Anther example of antique and vintage tools whose values can range from very little to thousands are drill related tools and braces.

Ajax Beam Boring Machine / Drill

 Drill related vintage tools are sought and their prices are driven by both users who prefer classic handRussell Jennings Auger Drill Bit Set tools to what is available today and some avid collectors. The highest prices in this category are created by a small group of very passionate collectors.  Prices for certain unusual patented braces have reached the mid 4 figures in the past. The same with a few example of rare beam drills.  Good quality user hand drills and braces by Stanley, North Brothers, Millers Falls, Goodell Pratt and a few others routinely sell in the hundreds.  At the far end of the range are all of the who cares no name eggbeater style hand drills and braces you see at flea markets and in shops that never sell for the 10.00 - $40.00 they are priced at.  As mentioned earlier it is like this in every subset of tools.  Common pieces that have very low demand and value, and rare and desirable pieces that swell well and for a lot of money. 

Condition

Condition is an important aspect in determining the value or desirability of an antique tool in today'sBoat Builders / Shipwright Caulking Mallet market. This statement holds true for most other antiques as well.  As an example, a rare woodworking plane or tool that is in excellent condition might be worth $1000. That same tool with a crack or chip in the cast iron body might not bring $100 at auction or on the open market. Not broken, but with deep pitting or other major condition problems, that same $1000 tool might fetch $200 - 300.  The same tool in mint condition and in the original box could be worth 2 or 3 times or more than the original $1000 figure. The value of a given object is all in the details.  There is a condition chart created by and published in the Fine Tool Journal that most antique tool dealers adhere to in describing their tools.  A copy of that condition chart can be found online or at our other website.  

Many casual sellers of antique tools and other antiques do not understand the concept of condition in relation to the value. k4box1.jpg (23221 bytes)They ignore it or are looking at the object through rose-colored glasses.   It does not help to hear an old tool looks "great for it age",  or phrases similar to that.  That phrase is the ultimate red flag, catch-all phrase many sellers on eBay and elsewhere use to knowingly peddle substandard wares or things in horrible condition.

Early or vintage tools in super condition are special interest and NOS (New Old Stock) and vintage tools in their original boxes that were made by all the major makers including Stanley, Ohio Tool, Sargent, Simmons Hardware or Keen Kutter, Winchester, and more are of particular interest, and in general have an enhanced value in the antique tool marketplace.  We are always interested in hearing about them.

Please click the other tool related pages in the left column for specific info on different types of collectible tools we seek and deal in. On the right side are links to the Past Sales Archives where you can see examples of what vintage tools and other antiques have sold for and can be worth.

stan100pln.jpg (20623 bytes)The above antique tools are an example of the caliber, condition and quality of antique tools that I typically deal in. Please contact me at AntiqBuyer@gmail.com if you have antique tools that are for sale.

To see many other examples of antique or vintage tools that I currently have for sale please go to our sister site at www.Patented-Antiques.com and visit the numerous antique tool sale pages you will find there.

Thank you!!
Larry & Carole


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Larry & Carole Meeker