Made in America

[HARO50]

Thought some of you might be interested in carving tools. Most, if not all, of these were made in the USA, but you'll find no makers name on any of them. Necessity being the mother of invention, all these tools were made from re-purposed steel, using whatever methods were available to soften, work, and anneal the steel. There may well have been a blacksmith or two among them.... you see, these tools were forged in several POW camps, from Omaha, Arizona, and one or two other places, roughly between 1944 and 1949. My dad was allowed to bring them back to Germany with him, and continued to use them for another 35 years.

John

[Stick486]

this is more than impressive...

[Gene Howe]

Now, thats pretty darned neat.

The American Legion in Coolidge, AZ had a hand carved bar front and back bar. The trim around the dropped ceiling over the bar was hand carved, also. Very intrcate and really well done. All done by German POWs. 

Wonder if any of those tools were used on that bar. At the time, there was a lot of coke produced nearby. Plenty for a few forges.

[lew]

What a wonderful history in those old tools!

[HandyDan]

All I can say is WOW!  What is a treasure!

[Nickp]

There's nothing better than history attached to tools...treasure them, John...

[Grandpadave52]

Late seeing this John. What a fantastic heirloom tool collection. The fact these are all handmade adds even more value...BUT the story makes these a priceless collection.

You probably already have done so, but if not, please take the time to type up the story associated with these and keep a copy secured with the tool set.

Thanks for sharing and giving us a piece of history.

[HARO50]

I agree with you, @Grandpadave52. We tried to get my dad to put some of his stories on paper, but it never happened. Over the holidays, I'm going to write out what I can remember and keep everything in a notebook. I know both of my kids would like that, and my daughter's kids are both interested. On second thought, it might take a bit longer.... but I'll get it done!

John

[Miataguy]

Neat old tools, love them!

[John Moody]

Now that is one nice collection of tools!

[HARO50]

Thought I posted this already, but I guess not. Dad carved a LOT of these, in a half-dozen different configurations and any number of sizes, starting as a POW and continuing almost to the end of his life. I hope no-one is offended by this.

John

[Miataguy]

37 minutes ago, HARO50 said:

Thought I posted this already, but I guess not. Dad carved a LOT of these, in a half-dozen different configurations and any number of sizes, starting as a POW and continuing almost to the end of his life. I hope no-one is offended by this.

John

Why in creation would we be offended?... it is beautiful!

 

Thanks for posting this.

[Gene Howe]

What a wonderful remembrance. The tools and their product from skilled hands.

[Grandpadave52]

6 hours ago, HARO50 said:

Thought I posted this already, but I guess not. Dad carved a LOT of these, in a half-dozen different configurations and any number of sizes, starting as a POW and continuing almost to the end of his life. I hope no-one is offended by this.

John

The story just gets better and better John. This is a great piece of true American folk art (sorry know you're Canadian). Knowing this piece was done with those tools by your father with skills developed as a POW is an amazing story. To me, this kind of work with the history is so much more valuable than a grand piece of furniture.

 

Thanks for sharing this amazing piece and story.

[John Moody]

On 12/21/2016 at 1:34 PM, HARO50 said:

Thought I posted this already, but I guess not. Dad carved a LOT of these, in a half-dozen different configurations and any number of sizes, starting as a POW and continuing almost to the end of his life. I hope no-one is offended by this.

John

 

 

So awesome and the story gives it life. I can't imagine anyone being offended. Thanks for posting!

[Stick486]

On 12/21/2016 at 0:34 PM, HARO50 said:

I hope no-one is offended by this.

if they are they need to get a grip...

[HARO50]

1 hour ago, John Moody said:

 

 

So awesome and the story gives it life. I can't imagine anyone being offended. Thanks for posting!

 

49 minutes ago, Stick486 said:

if they are they need to get a grip...

I couldn't agree more, but there ARE folks out there that might. Did you hear about the group in Toronto who went to court to try to prevent the Cleveland Indians from playing in the city?

John

And thanks for the kind comments. How's the knee, John?

[Grandpadave52]

3 hours ago, HARO50 said:

Did you hear about the group in Toronto who went to court to try to prevent the Cleveland Indians from playing in the city

Are you sure it wasn't the Cleveland Browns??? I think Cleveland is leading that campaign though.

 

Don't think Chicago or the Cubs fan had any problems with it this year...