In the best-selling tradition of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, these refreshing and insightful essays from master carpenter Jeff Taylor illuminate the spiritual aspects of working with hand tools. Bound with the look of real wood, this hardcover volume explores the beauty and function of these tried and true instruments and captures the extraordinarily intimate connection between people and their tools. Accompanied by rich, textured photographs of each tool, this simple, elegant, and engaging book is for anyone who enjoys building, fixing, and working with hand tools -- and it makes a handsome addition to any toolbox.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Let me be very clear about this: GET THIS BOOK. You may have an interest in hand tools and carpentry, or you may not. But this is a lovingly written book by a gifted storyteller and wit, and a damn entertaining read! It is about interacting with tools, but it is also the author's memoir of delightful characters he has known: teachers, mentors, and personal heroes. Much more than a "how-to" book, it is about a love for humanity, good humor, and creativity. It reads like a novel--and a good one!
Review
[Jeff Taylor's] prose can bring a tool to life. He writes of an old Lufkin flexible steel rule that, though it is not spring-loaded and 'must be rewound with a little handle that pops out from the center of the case. . . it is kind of fun, like fishing for dimensions.' And recalling the days before brass blowtorches had been supplanted by disposable propane ones, he writes, 'I took one, roaring in my hands like a shiny newborn dragon.'
--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times
Taylor's love for old tools is far from sentimental and impractical. Another lesson that he absorbed from his mentor was that 'the trend towards mass production degraded the sum of human knowledge and sapped the most vital component of craft: the human spirit.' 'Learn it all, everything you can,' his teacher told him. 'Otherwise you're just another robot, banging nails.' In this spirit of wholeness Mr. Taylor casts his essays as personal anecdotes, dramatizing each point.
--Dallas Morning News, December 1996
Mr. Taylor offers 26 arresting essays each with appealing and offbeat anecdotes. Each chapter is a touching and funny portrait of a tool and a man learning to use it. Dominating the essay is the voice of a master craftsman, teaching by example -- riveting imagery.
Mr. Taylor shares his journey from witty to wise, from a mere craftsman to one who shares the mystical space created by a worker and his tools.
The book would be poetry if it weren't filled with sweating, bleeding (and sometimes swearing) carpenters who have learned, as the author writes, that, 'Tools can't die. They just keep moving from hand to hand, down the years. It's something to ponder, that all the well-made things we own will outlive our bodies. Maybe we will too.'
This pithy and charming book would make a fine gift for anyone who loves working with his hands. But you better buy two; you're going to want to keep one for yourself.
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More About the Author
A dozen years ago, Geoff Taylor was spelled Jeff Taylor. Stuff happens, things change. My next book will be written under a new name.
Currently living as an informal unpaid night watch in a mountain community, renting writing space in an herbal laboratory. I feel like an Igor.
Recently, at the beginning of summer, a small moving van rammed into my home, almost killing me as I slept. But I arose from a nap ten minutes before its arrival -- picture a Mel Gibson movie where a vehicle crashes through a living room wall and stops six feet in front of the camera, and that's what I mean by "arrival"; and got to watch it lose control through the window while I was writing on deadline. Thought to myself, "I'd better run like a bastard for the farthest corner of the room, just in case." One second later, the van arrived.
So yes, since you asked, I do believe that my guardian angel was on duty that day. And how was your summer of 2009?
Currently living as an informal unpaid night watch in a mountain community, renting writing space in an herbal laboratory. I feel like an Igor.
Recently, at the beginning of summer, a small moving van rammed into my home, almost killing me as I slept. But I arose from a nap ten minutes before its arrival -- picture a Mel Gibson movie where a vehicle crashes through a living room wall and stops six feet in front of the camera, and that's what I mean by "arrival"; and got to watch it lose control through the window while I was writing on deadline. Thought to myself, "I'd better run like a bastard for the farthest corner of the room, just in case." One second later, the van arrived.
So yes, since you asked, I do believe that my guardian angel was on duty that day. And how was your summer of 2009?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You will both learn from & thoroughly enjoy this book.,
By Douglas H. Haden (Ridgecrest, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tools of the Trade: The Art and Craft of Carpentry (Paperback)
Regardless of how many partially read books you've left behind, you will read this one to the very last word. It has the homey-isms you'd expect after reading the reviews and the reader comments and is a lovely read because of them. It has the communing with tools discussed by reviewers and you will never see a hammer the same. It explores the art and craft of carpentry so you'll see more when you next see a finished cabinet or framed house. But there's more. Jeff Taylor is a fabulous writer. (You'll find his work in everything from anthologies to the latest woodworking magazines.) His story telling ability and Rich Iwasaki's photography come together to make Tools of the Trade a book both from which you'll learn--it will leave you changed--and you'll thoroughly enjoy; rarely paired benefits. Buy the book. (Aside: Maybe I have a weak mind, but I like bite sized chunks of reading. I'll almost always dive into them and read a bite or two even when time is short. Taylor's 26 five- to six-page chapters are just such.)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful book, a great gift.,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Tools of the Trade: The Art and Craft of Carpentry (Hardcover)
It's a shame that this book is now out of print and likely to become scarce, as I have given it on several occasions and have always received many thanks in return.The author fills the reader, even a reader with minimal knowledge or interest in carpentry, with a true respect for the tools, their usage, and the history behind them. Not just the history in a greater sense, but also the history these tools have in the author's life.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely loved it!!,
By getgopi (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tools of the Trade: The Art and Craft of Carpentry (Paperback)
I picked up this book about 6 years ago at a B&N store...and finished reading it in one sitting in my yard. Trust me when I tell you that it is not often when I feel overwhelmed by anything. But this book, with its simple prose, made me gulp several times. Keep in mind that it is not a depressing read. On the contrary, it can be funny as heck at times!
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