Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Birth Of A Tool.....

"It is a tragedy of the first magnitude that millions of people have ceased to use their hands as hands. Nature has bestowed upon us this great gift which is our hands. If the craze for machinery methods continues, it is highly likely that a time will come when we shall be so incapacitated and weak that we shall begin to curse ourselves for having forgotten the use of the living machines given to us by God."
Mahathma Ghandi







We are a small crew of craftsmen from Latvia who use our heritage of craftsmanship handed down through many generations to design and create woodworking tools and knives. Our process, our method and mission keep these traditions and crafts alive and well.  In this high-tech age, our own traditional craftsmanship is flourishing.
Founded by two craftsmen, John Neeman, a blacksmith whose passion is bladesmithing, and his friend Jacob, a carpenter, with a love for traditional woodworking. This bond created our company.
We use our hands to produce tools that will live on, telling their story in the hands of the craftsmen after us. Each tool we make is born with energy and personality – a love and care that will be felt daily by each craftsman; a resonance from the heart of the tool.


10 comments:

  1. State certified tool and die/mold maker here. Sharing the trade with my sons. Best I can do. Are we dying out or are we coming back?

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  2. Well I for one still use my hands, I polished musical instruments for 20 years now I run all kinds of different machines, and there not computerized ........
    My wrists are waisted....Oh well........;-)

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  3. Thank you for the video - I clicked on part two also. Love watching real craftsmen.
    There is something so special and unique about 'handmade'.

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  4. Mahathma Ghandi really was a fool of commie moron wasn't he?

    Capitalism has given us the big boxers like Home Depot and Lowes as well as tens of thousands of small specialty stores and internet suppliers, from all of whom I and hundreds of millions of others buy lots and lots of hand tools, power tools, bits, blades, clamps, accessories, glues, caulks und so weiter.

    Had the fool Mahathma Ghandi ever used a high torque sideways drill in a tight joist space with one hand he wouldn't have piffled about hands getting weak from machinery.

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    1. Glad you had the joy and opportunity of using the high torque s/w drill. But there IS a feeling of bringing something to life from a block of wood just by using old fashioned hand tools. Now-a-days everything must be done quickly - I understand that, but there is just a special feeling about taking time and a learned craft into making an item yourself. I have a better workshop than most men, but I still like working with my grandfather's and my Dad's old hand tools. I'm glad my Dad cared enough to share his knowledge with me. Now that I am old, I don't spend a lot of time in the shop but oh, the things that I made back then!

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    2. True enough, and I do that, but my power tools do not weaken my hands.

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  5. I'm not *quite* 100% hand-powered. I have a drill press, cordless drill, saber saw, and a ton of measuring tools and other hand tools. I make a lot of little mounting brackets, mounting plates, clamps and other things to support my Amateur Radio habit. I'm just amazed by people who look at the simple things I build, and then get blown away when I tell them I made it.
    Most recent project is modifying a large aluminum surveyor's tripod as a portable mount for an azimuth/elevation motor for my satellite antennas. I'm sure my modest handwork will amaze the "Where did you BUY it?" crowd.

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    1. Reminded me of the men who turn out one AK a day using hand tools. Posted.

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  6. As a do it yourselfer, this just made me smile, TY Irish
    Love the part where he shaves his arm with the mirror polished axe head.... Beautiful work :-)

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