Tools that made our world

Museum of Woodworking Tools is proud to present A Guide to Honing and Sharpening by Maurice Fraser, a master teacher of woodworking. This is the Museum's first instructional exhibit. But just as we think it's important to explore the history and details of woodworking tools, we think it's important to preserve the knowledge of technique. This exhibit is one of the largest and most comprehensive examinations of honing published anywhere, and we hope you enjoy it.

The Museum is proud to present A Guide to Honing and Sharpening by Maurice Fraser, a master teacher of woodworking. This is the Museum's first instructional exhibit. But just as we think it's important to explore the history and details of woodworking tools, we think it's important to preserve the knowledge of technique. This exhibit is one of the largest and most comprehensive examinations of honing published anywhere, and we hope you enjoy it.


Tools are a window into the social history of our civilization. They are a reminder to us of the people who built the world that we now live in. The selection of tools in this exhibit are signposts of this social history. We have a hammer that at some point in its history fell into the Thames River, which flows through central London. Maybe the handle broke in use? Maybe the man who was using it put it down and then it slipped off a plank? There are other areas that can be explored? How was the tool was made? When it was made and by whom and where? Tools have a practical history behind them; how the tool was used and in what context. Some tools we know a lot about. Others we just know about through use. Where possible we have included contemporary quotations to illustrate something about each tool. Ten tools were selected from the collection of Emil and Marty Pollak as fascinating examples that hint at the diversity of tools that have been used over the centuries. Emil Pollak (1925 - 1995) was one of the seminal figures in tool research and collecting in America. His interest and his collection led to his compiling and writing or editing several of the most important books extant on American wooden planes,