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  I will always remember my father giving me an Eastwing hammer for my 18th birthday, he wasn’t flush with cash and it was probably from his stock but it’s one present I used throughout my career. Ironically this is my most valuable tool not in monetary terms but nostalgically and it reminded me of…

The old Stanley tools we find nowadays are in far worse condition than when my father used to find them, i’m not talking about more rust here but rather the way they have been treated by their users. Back in the day when my father first formed Tooltique the tools seemed to be processed far…

There was a time back in the day when all new apprentices were assigned to make their own toolboxes and tool chests primarily to give them experience on working on their own projects. But why were they so important? Well firstly what most people don’t realise is that those wooden boxes were not just for…

Doing a good job has to be the first priority regardless of how poorly you priced a job to win it. Your good reputation demands this like every good craftsman. Life does throw dud jobs at us all from time to time (you should see some of the tools we get in) but it’s all…

With over 35 years of business experience I’ve become adverse to the quick buck because of the lack of satisfaction it brings, sure I have been there when money was easier but it never came without handing over a part of myself and going against what I hold dear. It’s only purpose seemed to be…

New counterfeit branded tools undermines integrity & credibility of all modern tools and the qualities they possess. Can modern tools actually be trusted to be what they claim to be? As part of my job I have to keep an eye out for many forms of tools but was shocked to see modern Stanley tools…

It’s a trait adopted by many tradesmen over the years primarily learning from our mistakes and reducing the risk of it happening again. In fact a mark of a good tradesman is often apparent when misfortune strikes (usually when distracted) and getting over the issue. Talking of distraction I was never a fan of mobile…

Haggling has its place but one should consider where and where it should apply, doing so in the wrong places can be deemed seriously offensive. Haggling should be confined to car boot sales but often is applied with antiques, ‘What’s your best price’ is the term often used. However when it becomes offensive is when…

Phew! what a great summer 2018 was and it seemed there were plenty of people enjoying the great outdoors taking full advantage of what was simply glorious and memorable weather. The down side usually is when we all have to work through it but it’s remarkable how the body soon adapts, although the mind tends…

There used to be a saying regularly used in the workplace ‘a bad tradesman always blames his tools’ but after many years experience I came to the conclusion those who did make excuses generally were the real problem and they all had the same in common, they just lacked pride in their work. They just…