Classic Hand Tools (ISBN 1561585076)

A wonderful introduction to hand tools:
I recieved this book for Christmas and just finished it. It is a great introduction to the use and care of hand tools. It has very informative and interesting side bars and is wonderfully illustrated. It blends the aesthetic with the practical very well. Just one hint: skip over the section on handplanes and just purchase Hack's "Handplane book" which is the definitive book on handplanes.

WOODBUTCHER HEAVEN:
Garrett Hack feels that his hand tools have become extensions of himself and are linked with what he makes and how he makes it. He also believes that learning about hand tools and how to use them is part of the pleasure to be gotten from working with wood. His beautiful and informative book, "Classic Hand Tools", will convince even the most casual "weekend wood-butcher" that he's right. Hack's presentation of hand tools is organized according to their normal purposes: boring, sawing, planing, marking and measuring, striking and chiseling and he provides historical insights into the development of the more common hand tools. For example, "Striking Tools" starts with axes and hatchets and moves through twybills and throes to mallets and hammers. Each major section surveys numerous variants of the class of tools being dealt with, and covers use, maintenance, sharpening and tuning. As a bonus, most sections contain informative sidebars providing advice and tips from the master. Although the author's bias is for Western tools built before World War II, he includes explanations and discussion of some Eastern hand tools and explains what's involved in making your own tools, buying used tools and strategies for restoring old ones. There's even a section on workshops, benches and clamps. This handsome work is illustrated by more than 300 photgraphs and 40 drawings and features an introduction, bibliography and index. John Sheldon's superb photography more than exceeds the exacting standards of the Taunton Press. Garrett Hack, a farmer, tool collector and trained architect, has been making furniture professionally for more than 25 years. He is a regular contributor to Fine Woodworking magazine.

Great Book:
The breadth of Mr. Hack's knowledge is truly impressive. The book gives enough detail to understand the history, care and use of a tool while not becoming boring. His technical understanding of tools was very good and he did a nice job of conveying it. I'd recommend it.

If you're into hand tools, this book is awsome:
I highly recommend Classic Hand Tools for many reasons, but in a nutshell it is a book to help me get through the long winter here in Minnesota. I read it randomly and don't mind at all reading parts several times. Not only is it well written, (I'm a "professional writer" so I'm hard to please) it is beautifully produced with many excellent photos. You get a short course of the history of hand tools... with a special emphasis on planes. Mr Hack also produced a book of this size and quality, specifically about planes. I plan to get that one on also. The book is not limited to woodworking tools; Hack also touches on black smithing -- the sort that many tradesmen would have had to know in the days before mass-produced tools. Also there is a chapter on how to buy used hand tools.