Herbert P. Kean – författare

Storytelling is an ancient art. At their best, stories provide a very personal and engaging way to pass information, experience, insight and imagination from one group to another, from one generation to another. Tool Tales is full of such stories. Its author, Herb Kean, is a noted tool collector, dealer, restorer and author (as well as renowned raconteur). Here, he has culled from magazines, journals, newspapers and encyclopedias 50 of his best stories and "tips" columns, written over the course of his long career. These stories range from whimsical tales of trips taken in search of old tools to more technical pieces detailing the "how-to’s" of solving many a knotty tool-related problem. Full of valuable information to help the reader in buying, selling and restoring antique tools, they are also full of wit and good, old-fashioned fun.

A price guide is only as helpful as its prices are current. With this in mind, we offer a new fourth edition of Herbert Kean’s A Price Guide to Antique Tools, its prices taken from the latest live and internet auctions as well as from private sales. As before, there are over 12,000 prices (individual and chart combinations) that represent extraordinary tools, as well as those found in flea markets. There is an explanation for each tool group that allows the reader to judge the condition of a tool, the most critical of all factors when determining price. The chapter on American wooden planes covers over 400 makers, each graded with a single value number, a system that is at the same time simple and comprehensive. To help even more, almost every tool is illustrated with a photograph or line drawing. The section on internet prices explains the mechanisms of electronic auctions and gives tips for successful bidding. If you have ever wished that you could consult with an expert before investing in a tool, this is the book for you. It puts at your fingertips the knowledge and expertise of noted tool collector and dealer Herb Kean, both in determining current prices and in evaluating condition. Altogether, an invaluable book.