Nifty site this!

[CedarSlayer]

In days of old, it was common enough that an apprentice had to make a tool box and fill it with tools that he had made. This makes good sense in a lot of ways. If you are an apprentice and you are making a tool box you can carry handily, the amount of wood used might be in the 20 pounds range and the steel used would be half that or less. A lot of tools could be made from better scraps. After making a tool, an apprentice might care for it better and will probably understand it better. The shaping of a tool would give good training and be an example of workmanship.

So to teach myself woodworking, I took up the hobby of making tools. Then I became addicted to tool making. I still use a lot of purchased tools in my processes. I like to replace them with homemade versions, but only if I think I can improve on them.

As an example, the Gyokucho 650 is a nearly perfect saw. I suppose I could put an octagonal handle on it and pretend to myself that I had made the saw, but I don't know how I could improve on it. I do know how to tune it up to be even better than new, but as long as they make such an amazing hand saw, I will use it at one point or another while making most of my tools.

Bob