Vol. 6, Issue 2
From the Collection
Personalizing a tool can be done in many ways, depending on
the material or style of the item needing to be identified,
from the most simplistic methods of writing one's name on the
tool, painting it a specific color or perhaps making a recognizable
mark on it, to more sophisticated methods of identification.
The use of a name stamp was a common practice for cabinetmakers
when marking their tools. In some cases, it also became the
brand or trademark for items that were produced.
The most personal of all identifiers is the creation of a working
tool for everyday use that exhibits the skill of the maker.
This tool should not be mistaken for a so-called apprentice
or test piece or even a salesman's sample. Making items of that
type were sometimes the final step in the apprentice/journeyman/master
process, to signify the skill acquired through many years of
diligent study. Once the exercise was completed, the tool was
often given to the master as a parting gift. It was only after
the apprentice had served his time and was a working journeyman
that some surplus time may have been found and put to use to
make a tool that gave the maker the satisfaction of exhibiting
his skill. More likely, this tool was part of the long-honored
tradition of creating a personal tool to be part of the journeyman's
working kit and to be shared by all who were allowed to see
it in use or in its place in the tool chest.