So true Damascus, so true.
We forget (never having had a war on our soil in many years) what real shortage and hardship is. And how it molds us.
I collect old tools that I can see I might have use for, because I hope that the ideas and skills of previous owners will come to me when I use them. Might be superstition, might be Karma, might be guardian angels, who knows. But when I pick up a well worn file, or sharpen an old chisel or plane, I feel closer to my predecessors. And I always hope to do as well as my teachers.
I am reminded of an old television show called "Northern Exposure", a dramady based in Cicely, Alaska. Wherein the local astronaut bought a Swiss clock about 300 years old. It traveled with a clocksmith. He complained that the clock would not keep time as well as his $5.00 Seiko, that it must be faulty or defective. But, the young clockmaker said No, it's exactly as it's supposed to be, doing as it's supposed to do. Reminding him that 300 years ago 5 seconds a day was beyond any measure of performance for the time.
Jack's hands know their way around the bench.
Ever notice people don't "bronze" anymore? I learned it as "Brazing" from my father. Then an Italian guy I worked on cars with taught me a little more, and he called it "bronzing". Now it's a thing done in a salon.
Yet I open many old guns, and parts are very clearly bronzed together.
