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
column 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 of
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
inclinometer
s. 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 valuable
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
leatherworking
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, an
d 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
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 the
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
in 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 to
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
are 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 interest
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.
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, 
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.
Drill related vintage tools are sought and their prices are
driven by both users who prefer classic hand
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's
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. 
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.
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
Larry & Carole Meeker
