American Woodworking Tools

Paul B. Kebabian

Reviewed by:

Bob Nelson

This book provides an excellent general introduction to old tools and their history to anyone with limited knowledge of such. In those regards, it includes an impressive array of pictures (by Dudley Witney) and an interesting and informative text. But conversely, it is of limited value as a reference source and of limited interest to those who are seeking tool use guidance or are already moderately well informed tool collectors.

The emphasis is on "American" tools, but the first two chapters provide pre-American cultural and historical data going back to the stone age. Basic types of tools (e.g., axes, saws, planes, etc.) are then discussed prior to chapters on various specialized users of tools (e.g., shipwright, wheelwright, cooper, etc.). There is then a chapter on tools that measure or hold; why these were not covered among the prior basic tool types is unclear. The book ends with a chapter on the decline of the hand tool throughout the 1800s.