Miscellaneous Tools - The Best Things

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Antique Tools at The Best Things

Miscellaneous Tools

MI100244 G. Rohrbach An important Pennsylvania goosewing axe. Rohrbach axes are considered by most collectors to the most interesting Pennsylvania axes, with very distinctive decorative features. This is the best Rohrbach axe that I have seen in 25 years of doing this. It has it all. The condition is as good as it gets, with great original surface and an old and probably original handle. It has a very pronouced hook in the crook of the blade and a pronounced ogee at the end. These are trademark Rohrbach features, but they are not always as well defined as on this example. The mark is cleanly struck, three times of course, that was standard. If you are a connoisseur collector, and only want one really great American axe, this is the one to get. I have seen collections of Pennsylvania axes, and none of them had a Rohrbach example as nice as this one. G+ $2895

MI91225 John Veit, Philadelphia This is a rare opportunity to own a signed 19th Century cabinetmaker's bench. This bench is in the Pennsylvania style dog leg front vice. John Veit was of course a famous planemaker, but he also made quite a few shute boards. This is the first work bench that I am aware of with his mark. The bench is marked on the front vice, not on the screws. This is significant because it tells us conclusively that he made the bench, and not just the screws. The bench is in pretty typical condition for a 19th Century bench, with a well worn top. It has a series of holes in the front around the end vice, where somebody has carelessly drilled into the bench. These really detract in my opinion and I think that they should be plugged. The handle for the front vice has been replaced by an old bolt long ago. The dimensions are: 33 inches high, about 25 1/2 inches deep and about 6 1/2 feet long. The bench is currently in situ in the garage of a collector in Rockville, Maryland. It can be collected there, or it will have to be crated and shipped, which will be considerably more costly than UPS. Rarely do I say that you won't see another one, but this time I think that it is true. G- $1345

MI91056 Marsden Brothers, Bridge Street Works, Sheffield This is a magnificent pair of ice skates in superb conditon. Besides being maker marked, they are marked by the retailer, "M. Bradford & Co, Boston" and engraved by the owner, Wm F. Allen, W. Newton. They are also marked with a royal warrant to queen victoria. These were top of the line skates when new, bought by wealthy Bostonian of the Victorian period, who was proud enough of them to have his name jeweler engraved on each skate. The blades are mostly bright and clean like new. There are a few spots of staining on the blades, but no rust. The wood still has better than 70% of the original polish finish. Without a doubt as nice a pair of skates as one might hope to find. These warrant doing a little research on this Mr. Allen of West Newton Mass. (A customer has now done some research and sent me a link to a book on Google Books called West Newton Half a Century Ago. Apparently the Allen family ran an important private school in West Newton for many years. It could not find reference to our Mr. Allen, but it was noted that many members of the family taught at the school.) G++ $385

MI80157 Goosewing Ax This is one of the nicest European goosewing axes that I have seen. I had it up next to a Pennsylvania ax by Stahler that I will be listing soon and it is amazing how similar the lines are, but I am pretty sure that this one is European, probably Austrian, but could be Swiss or German as well. The surface on this ax is untouched with as good a patina as you ever find on axes. It is double marked with a touchmark, but I am not aware of a reference with which to identify these. The blade is also nicely decorated. It shows use but not abuse, with wear to the center of the blade. The handle looks old, but I question if it is original to the ax only because at both ends it shows evidence of having been recently trimmed. This is subtle and it certainly looks original until you study it. If you want just one great example of this classic form, I recommend this one. G+ $595

31033 W.H. Pond, New Haven Pond was a major manufacturer of coachmaker's tools. I don't know what this tool was for, nor do any of the people I have showed it to. I did discover that at least one other is known and that the other one was found in a kit of coachmaker's tools. The tool has two separate slitters, adjustable on vertical pieces in the stock of the tool. All I know for sure is that this is a neat looking and very rare signed American tool. There is a hole in the stock where a screw was used to lock what was designed as a friction fit. A customer has sent in this information: "I grew up here in central Ohio in the small village of Plain City. During the 1960's there was a harness shop owned and operated there by two sisters. They served the horse-and-buggy Amish in the area, and later, the local harness racing community. I used to stop in their shop on occasion just to watch and be amazed. On occasion I remember seeing one of the ladies slicing strips from cow or horse hides for the reigns, traces and other straps on the harnesses with a tool that looked very much like this one. It had opposing knives (very sharp) and was adjustable for the width they needed. The notch in the "top" of the cutter way acted as a guide for the hide as it was being cut. they could cut pairs of strips very evenly and rather quickly. The hide, as I remember, was held at one end in a vice or with a clamp and stretched by hand to keep it taut as it was cut. I won't say that their tool was exactly the same one, but it looked very similar." G+ $165