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Tools of the trade : Choose a masterwork...
The hammer, which comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, is a tool utilised by farriers and blacksmiths, as well as by stone dressers, shoemakers and roofers. The wooden mallet is used in particular by coopers. Cutting tools such as hatchets, axes and doloires (wagoner’s axes) are the province of craftsmen in wood, such as house carpenters and coopers.
The hand of the stonecutter from the Vitré region (Ile-et-Villaine) who owned this sledgehammer left its mark on the handle, which was gradually worn down by abrasive stone dust and sweat over a lifetime of work.
Sets of miniature tools were sometimes created by edge-tool makers. This one, presenting tanners’ and curriers’ tools of trade was made in the early 20th century by Maison Touzalin in Château-Renault (Indre-et-Loire), which was known as the “city of leather”.
The “joints” or earrings worn by Companions in the 19th century were often ornamented with miniature tools made of gold. House carpenters hung theirs with pairs of compasses and carpenter’s planes, tanners with knives and scrapers, bakers with shovels and fire rakes, blacksmiths with horseshoes, and coopers with doloires. Roofers added hammers and anvils. Although the wearing of “joints” is still sometimes encountered in certain trades, it is now just a matter of a pair of faceted gold rings. Only Companion Bakers and Pastry Cooks du Devoir continue to hang the tools of their trades from them on special occasions.
Tools are always featured in the “coats of arms” of the various guilds. Generally speaking, compasses are associated with set squares, and, between the two is a tool or other object typical of the trade in question: a carpenter’s plane for house carpenters, a doloire for coopers, a plane or wheel for wheelwrights, a hammer and anvil for roofers, or a shovel and fire rake for bakers – as this baker’s clay creation illustrates.
The hammer, which comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, is a tool utilised by farriers and blacksmiths, as well as by stone dressers, shoemakers and roofers. The wooden mallet is used in particular by coopers. Cutting tools such as hatchets, axes and doloires (wagoner’s axes) are the province of craftsmen in wood, such as house carpenters and coopers.
The hand of the stonecutter from the Vitré region (Ile-et-Villaine) who owned this sledgehammer left its mark on the handle, which was gradually worn down by abrasive stone dust and sweat over a lifetime of work.
Sets of miniature tools were sometimes created by edge-tool makers. This one, presenting tanners’ and curriers’ tools of trade was made in the early 20th century by Maison Touzalin in Château-Renault (Indre-et-Loire), which was known as the “city of leather”.
The “joints” or earrings worn by Companions in the 19th century were often ornamented with miniature tools made of gold. House carpenters hung theirs with pairs of compasses and carpenter’s planes, tanners with knives and scrapers, bakers with shovels and fire rakes, blacksmiths with horseshoes, and coopers with doloires. Roofers added hammers and anvils. Although the wearing of “joints” is still sometimes encountered in certain trades, it is now just a matter of a pair of faceted gold rings. Only Companion Bakers and Pastry Cooks du Devoir continue to hang the tools of their trades from them on special occasions.
Tools are always featured in the “coats of arms” of the various guilds. Generally speaking, compasses are associated with set squares, and, between the two is a tool or other object typical of the trade in question: a carpenter’s plane for house carpenters, a doloire for coopers, a plane or wheel for wheelwrights, a hammer and anvil for roofers, or a shovel and fire rake for bakers – as this baker’s clay creation illustrates.