| The Davistown Museum |
| Catalog of Maine Tools |
| Tools of Historic Interest not in the Museum Collection |
| | The following tools have a special historic interest and are included in our website because they are rare, unusual, |
| | manufactured by unlisted tool makers or are an important part of the history of Maine. When possible we will provide |
| | a photograph of these tools. In many cases, these tools have either been recently sold by the Jonesport Wood Co., |
| | Inc. (Liberty Tool Co., Hulls Cove Tool Barn, Captain Tinkham's Emporium) or are owned by customers of the |
| | Jonesport Wood Co., Inc. The tools of historic interest not in our collection are divided into two categories, those |
| | manufactured in Maine and those manufactured outside of Maine. |
| | Status |
| Axes |
| | 102804T1 | Broad ax | photo | NOM |
| | signed "LAKESIDE". |
| | DATM (Nelson 1999) notes: A Lakeside Tool Co. has been reported as a hardware dealer whose planes were made by |
| | "Union". Lakeside was also used by Montgomery Ward as a brand name. It is not known when they started to use it. This is |
| | an early 19th century broad ax that would have pre-dated Montgomery Ward and probably the Union Tool Co. or would |
| | have been from their early years. Was there a subsidiary of the Union Tool Co. that made this? It is not clear whether this |
| | broad ax has any connection with the Union Tool Co. of Torrington, CT +/- 1873, which also made chisels, rules and saws. |
| | This broad ax would be typical of Maine shipyards in the early years of the 19th century especially before the advent of |
| | the circular saw c. 1830. Much of the cutting of the larger timbers for the ship's frame would have been done using hand |
| | tools such as the broad ax, adz, and pit saw prior to the availability of the circular saw. |
| Knives |
| | 120208T1 | Crooked knife | photo | photo | NOM |
| | Wood, unsigned. |
| | Rick Floyd has provided these photographs of a Native American crooked knife he found in a workshop in Dexter, Maine. It |
| | is an example of an important Native American tool. |
| Maine Made Tools |
| | 51701T1 | Lining rule | NOM |
| | Mahogany, maple and nickel-plated steel, signed "Dirigo Ind. Ruler PATENT Applied For. F.B. Deming & Co. Calais. Me. |
| | Mailed to any address on receipt of price 75 cents.". |
| | This is a previously unlisted (DATM 1999) Maine rulemaker working in Calais, ME, ca. 1885. Owned by Patrick Leach who |
| | purchased this tool in Searsport, ME, May 12, 2001. |
| Shipwrights' and Mariners' Tools |
| | 70802T1 | Ship's bevel | NOM |
| | signed "J. Souls". |
| | This bevel was purchased by P. L. Platt at Liberty Tool Co., May 10, 2002. He states "John Soul's working dates: started |
| | 1837, 1838 at 95 Norfolk St. NYC, 1840 at 105 Elm St. NYC, 1846 at 212 W. 17th St. NYC. D.A.T. indicates that a J. |
| | Souls was also listed in a Philadelphia 'listing' as a rule maker. We do have some documented rules from NYC, but, to my |
| | knowledge, nothing from PA or Philadelphia. Certainly a candidate for some research or a thesis. The dates and |
| | addresses above are from an unpublished master's thesis of John Hathaway, now living in California, son of Pete |
| Tools Made Outside of Maine |
| | SCOM1001 | Hand saw (8 point cross cut) | NOM |
| | Spring steel with beech handle and split nut brasses, 19 3/4" long, signed "Seth Wood 1XL Taunton Mass" in oval with |
| | "EXTRA" above the oval, "Spring Steel4 Warranted" below oval, ca. 1870. |
| | This tool is not listed in DATM. The collector, Zoltan Farkas of Cherryfield, ME, purchased this saw from the Hulls Cove |
| | Tool Barn (4/25/2000). He obtained the following information from the Old Colony Historical Society of Taunton, MA: |
| | The Taunton City Directories indicate that in 1870 Mr. Wood was a dealer in hardware and cutlery at 21 Broadway with his |
| | home on Weir St. at the corner of Sumner. In 1872 his home listing changed to High St. near Bryant. In 1874, Seth is |
| | listed as being in business with his son, Howard S. Wood, as Seth Wood and Son, dealers in hardware and cutlery, 23 |
| | Broadway. 1876 is the last year that Seth and Howard Wood are listed, no occupation or business listing, house on Walnut |
| | St. near Harrison Ave. While the signature on the saw indicates Wood was the manufacturer of the saw, it is possible as no |
| | other Seth Wood saws are known and he is not listed in DATM, that he added his name to this saw to advertise his |
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