Old tools- Do you refinish or use as is?

they look relatively clean to me. I say a little cleaning and leave it like it is.

-- Got Wood?

Their age is probably well earned, let them keep as much as you can except for what hinders their performance or makes them uncomfortable to use (example: burrs or dings in the metal).

-- Galootish log blog, http://www.timberframe-tools.com

Look through my tool boxes and my shop and you will find many “old” tools. I like alot of the older tools, better than their modern counterparts. Many were passed down to me from my dad, many have been found in antique shops, yard sales and wherever along the way. Most still have their patina as found. Drives me nuts when i find a wood plane or other wooden tool that someone has varnished anew. I may be a nutcase but I want to feel the tool just like the craftsman who usd it before me. Crazy thing, when i am in my shop, using older tools and find myself “stuck” looking to do something, or about to do something stupid, I hear my dad in my head. . . .the guy who started me down the woodworking road. Bottom line, if it works like it should, keep it clean, take any rust off and use it in the spirit of it’s past owner(s).

Happy Thanksgiving one and all

-- Bill, Michigan "People don't come preassebled, but are glued together by life"

I say if it’s not broke, leave it alone. I would just do what needs doing to keep it working smoothly. I agree with Wichle!

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL

-- Erwin, Jacksonville, FL

See, there was something in the back of my thick skull that said leave them be.
The patina of age and use, I like that.

-- Scott "Some days you are the big dog, some days you are the fire hydrant"

clean them with lith little mineral oil and refresh the wood with BLO and few drops of
WD40 just enoff to clean the blades with a dry rag

about the brass well its up to you, thow there has been histiric present all over the world
to ceep brass shiny just not in woodworkers toolboxes…lol

Dennis

They appear to be in pretty good shape. For me it depends on the tool and how I’m going use it. I have a passion for returning tools to like new condition, if that’s possible. With these I’d just clean them up a little and look forward to using them as soon as I could. Nice find.

-- Doug - Make an effort to live by the slogan "We try harder"

When I get a used tool that is usable I just clean it up a bit, sharpen it, and use it.

-- If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau

They don’t look dirty to me!

-- Div @ the bottom end of Africa. "A woodworker's sharpest tool should be his mind."