Our aim here at Tooltique has always been to become a reliable supplier of good old user tools restored to a standard that match or better their original functionality. Yes during this process we improve a tools appearance but more importantly the tool should work to its optimum performance with little or no final honing.
We know there are guys out there who buy top end hand tools and pay handsomely for that but for those who require the best tools we honestly believe when old tools are restored properly they can often match the very best available today for a fraction of the price.
Whilst I appreciate their are those who wouldn’t stoop to using anything other than Lie Nielson it has to be said that Thomas Chippendale never used a metal plane and mastered what he used at the time. The same can be said of the old timers using nothing but wooden planes to achieve some stunning workmanship often seen in older properties and pieces of furniture.
The same can be said here we know our smoothing planes are perfectly flat having been lapped on a precision granite bed and can be set up to take the finest of shavings from hardwoods even with the grain running in multiple directions.
The saws are always jointed flat and the teeth often have been evened out to ensure the saw isn’t just sharp its done so the any future sharpening can be achieved easily to refresh it.
Much of what we do is to check all aspects of a tool by stripping it down to ensure nothing is seized and cleaning and oiling movable parts even if something looks to be in good shape.
As you can appreciate all this takes time and that time is reflected as part of the prices charged. Sure we could do things quicker and cheaper but do you as a customer want to order something only to find out after they get it there is something wrong? This would then entail returning goods by post and waiting for refunds and all the hassle of contacting us etc.
We simply don’t want to mess customers about and try our utmost to get things right every time.
Take for example a Stanley No: 4 we know these can be picked up cheaper if you happen to be in the right place at the right time but here’s the bit some people don’t get. The plane regardless of condition is going to take time to sort out and set up, and for many they would never get it to work as well as we will. We typically spend an hour and a half on refurbishing a No: 4 and the reason we do this is to help customers produce a better finish on their work, those who appreciate what we do often return for other tools in the future.
As for prices, you only get what you pay for in this life, lower prices would mean lower standards, that’s something which we will never do.
