What qualifies as a vintage tool?
- Thread starter F124C
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
F: we sort of hashed this around a few months ago, but since you probably did a search and didn't find anything i think we all thought prior to 1980 was a good start. after that a lot of tools started to be made in China.
also some of us agreed prior to 1960 and WWII for some stuff where the quality went down after that for some tools.
i'll keep watch to see what others say.
which tools are you talking about and since you are from Ireland do you all play great golf or just a few of you?
also some of us agreed prior to 1960 and WWII for some stuff where the quality went down after that for some tools.
i'll keep watch to see what others say.
which tools are you talking about and since you are from Ireland do you all play great golf or just a few of you?
sometoyotaguy
Well-known member
1980 seems like a good ballpark before most tools were made in Taiwan or China.
Beerman
Well-known member
I would venture that most of us would consider ANY tool from a defunct, American made brand to be vintage-by default. Plomb, Indestro, Herbrand, Utica, etc.
Beerman
Beerman
Model A Fan
Well-known member
I would say anything pre mass Chinese manufacture. Vintage to me means pre-1970s. With a company like Craftsman, vintage will begin to mean anything pre-Chicom manufacture to include Taiwan.
woody 73
Well-known member
Everyone is different but the formula that I am sticking to is any tool that is fifty years or older. So being 2015 that would mean any tool made from 1965 or before would be vintage in my book.
Some would say different and that is ok; but this is the yardstick by which I am trying to use.
Some would say different and that is ok; but this is the yardstick by which I am trying to use.
wornoutoldman
Well-known member
IMHO any tool pre 1980 regardles of COO. Using woody 73's definition qualifies as vintage and antique for me.
bczygan
Well-known member
On CL, it is anything broken, rusty, dirty or unidentifiable.
British/German plus some U.S. Automotive tools from c.1920's to 1990.
Re: Golf there's a fella called Mc something who supposed to be good but he's from Northern Ireland,(that's the same as British but with a funny accent)
there a few others also.e.g. Padraigh Harrington, Christie O'Connor (Jr & Sn).
Only the well-off play golf in Ireland, usually for networking reasons, I'm not and I don't. (Golf = a good walk ruined)
Thanks for the info,
Al. (from Southern Ireland)
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BobBarker
Banned
My boss can be qualified as a "vintage tool"...
Well, the tools think they will.
Result expected some time on Sat May 23rd, probably evening time.
Also the 2nd part of the referendum concerns lowering the age at which one might become President of Ireland from 35? to 21.
Al.
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Dirty Diesels
Well-known member
I'd say something like Par-X & Gordon tools, also anything datewise made upto the 1970's! would qualify as being vintage.
Fretters
Well-known member
Woody's guideline is quite good. High quality tools of any age technically class as vintage too, but pre 70's is good as a general guideline. Antique, something is 100 years old or older.
softailgarage
Well-known member
Vintage to me is pre-1975, however I think the rule is vintage= 50 years & antique= 100 years.
Damn, I qualify as vintage
Damn, I qualify as vintage
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
pre-1965 50+ yo - I have a 3/8" Craftsman ratchet and some socket.
Pre-1980 35+ yo - More than 75% of my Craftsman collection. The rest of the sockets, ratchet, extension, combination wrenches, etc.
Pre-1980 35+ yo - More than 75% of my Craftsman collection. The rest of the sockets, ratchet, extension, combination wrenches, etc.
Update @ 22.52 Irish Time, :
Yes two tools can now get married, so can two sockets. 62.1% vs 37.9%
Ireland is the first country in the world to allow same-*** marriage.
2nd Referendum concerned lowering the Presidential age from min. 35 years to 21.
Failed 73.1% against 26.9% for, so no 21 year old president for Ireland!
Al.
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MikeF2316
Well-known member
Ireland is the first country to legalize same *** marriage by popular vote. It's been legal in several other countries (including mine) for quite some time.
I have a hard time considering anything "vintage" that I remember new in stores!
Fretters
Well-known member
Pre or post war? 
Which war?
Al.
most everyone still alive in the USA understands pre-war or post-war to mean WWII. approx 1941 to 1943 depending on who ya ask.
i cant explain it as well as some can, but i'll try.
pre WWII was of course the industrial era and the great depression. stuff was made to last because it had to.
cars, tools, bicycles, appliances and such.
i own bicycles from the 50s and earlier that have been sitting outside for decades and can be saved. i've seen NEW wal*mart bikes sit outside for one year that i wouldnt waste my time saving.
a lot of stuff was "over engineered".
ever ride in a ford model A w/ no fenders/running boards? you can look out and see the axle/spindle assy and wonder how this little thing holds up.
thats how every manufacture made things pre-war. folks in the hills of west virginia(or any non-rural area) didnt have electricity, so they could buy a gas powered(hit&miss)engine MAYTAG washing machine. unlike people today a washing machine was a huge purchace and it would be used for 20 to 30 years.
tools were thick & bulky(some) but they didnt break or spread unless ya beat the **** outta them.
not just me, but a lot of folks use WWII as a benchmark is because at the time a LOT of manufactures shut down production to the public and just made stuff for the military/war effort.
after the war was over the manufactures went back into full swing and stuff got better.
people got to work, people could buy stuff, and we made cool & good stuff.
i'll leave it at that 'cause if i go much farther i'll get into economics/politics and that's not allowed.
if i left some stuff/history out you older & wiser members can please add on.
i'm looking your way outlaw
pre WWII was of course the industrial era and the great depression. stuff was made to last because it had to.
cars, tools, bicycles, appliances and such.
i own bicycles from the 50s and earlier that have been sitting outside for decades and can be saved. i've seen NEW wal*mart bikes sit outside for one year that i wouldnt waste my time saving.
a lot of stuff was "over engineered".
ever ride in a ford model A w/ no fenders/running boards? you can look out and see the axle/spindle assy and wonder how this little thing holds up.
thats how every manufacture made things pre-war. folks in the hills of west virginia(or any non-rural area) didnt have electricity, so they could buy a gas powered(hit&miss)engine MAYTAG washing machine. unlike people today a washing machine was a huge purchace and it would be used for 20 to 30 years.
tools were thick & bulky(some) but they didnt break or spread unless ya beat the **** outta them.
not just me, but a lot of folks use WWII as a benchmark is because at the time a LOT of manufactures shut down production to the public and just made stuff for the military/war effort.
after the war was over the manufactures went back into full swing and stuff got better.
people got to work, people could buy stuff, and we made cool & good stuff.
i'll leave it at that 'cause if i go much farther i'll get into economics/politics and that's not allowed.
if i left some stuff/history out you older & wiser members can please add on.
i'm looking your way outlaw
Fretters
Well-known member
Did your lot think sod it and leave a couple of years early or something?
1945 it finished. 1939 was the official start.Did your lot think sod it and leave a couple of years early or something?
yes my friend. i did say approx because i'm not a history major and i've been drinking
yes WWII started before 1941 but i think thats around when we(USA) joined in.
and when it was over your right. 1945.
Fretters
Well-known member
yes my friend. i did say approx because i'm not a history major and i've been drinking
I'd guessed a tipple or two was likely involved.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
SNIP
if i left some stuff/history out you older & wiser members can please add on.
i'm looking your way outlaw
Nah, Almost no one agrees with my definition of Vintage everyone thinks it starts with stuff just before or just after they were born so I have a hard time with 70's 80's stuff being called vintage.
I'm pretty much sticking with the official rules: Antique is 100+ or something that is very early in the life-cycle of the thing (so it's only recently that many cars could be called "antique" by the 100 y. rule, but pre-war was generally accepted as antique, and pre 1960 (I'm showing my age here) was vintage. these days I'd go with any car not dominated with plastic would be vintage, so late 60's or so and back... some of the post 70 factory muscle cars... (But not Pintos and Vegas...)
Tools I go with the 100 year rule for antique, and maybe 1960-75 or so for tools generally for Vintage.
Furniture; the 50 and 100 year rule.
Computers, anything pre 286 I'd call antique, Anything more than say 10 years old, vintage...
I'm seeing a pattern here: Mostly if you have to baby it, and work to keep it going, vintage. if you have to wonder why it still works and/or hadn't died from misuse, antique.
Hmmmm, I think we could rate people that way! I feel better! I'm Vintage not antique!
Fretters
Well-known member
Mostly if you have to baby it, and work to keep it going, vintage. if you have to wonder why it still works and/or hadn't died from misuse, antique.
That actually sounds a decent way to gauge.
Hmmmm, I think we could rate people that way! I feel better! I'm Vintage not antique!
I'm resisting making any suggestions on that front.
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
That actually sounds a decent way to gauge.
I'm resisting making any suggestions on that front.
So,,, People in glass houses and all that?
Fretters
Well-known member
Outlawmws
Well-known member
yes my friend. i did say approx because i'm not a history major and i've been drinking
yes WWII started before 1941 but i think thats around when we(USA) joined in.
and when it was over your right. 1945.
Tell that to the poor sod hideout Japanese solders that continued to "fight" on some islands for 30-40 years...
speaking of stones....
and old/vintage things.
we(GJ members) are gentlemen and dont fight over semantics.
what is cool is cool.
when it comes to rock&roll some guys will put the cut off year from "oldies" to "classic rock" at 1959. when buddy,ritchie, & big bobber died.
some guys will say "oldies" endend in 1964 when the beatles and the brittish invasion came to america.
its a judgement/opinion call.
i may have slipped on american industrial/manufacturing history, but rock&roll history is my thing.
we(the USA) did invent rock&roll but england did perfect it w/ the beatles and the stones.
i could go on for days, but this is a topic for another day/thread
and old/vintage things.
we(GJ members) are gentlemen and dont fight over semantics.
what is cool is cool.
when it comes to rock&roll some guys will put the cut off year from "oldies" to "classic rock" at 1959. when buddy,ritchie, & big bobber died.
some guys will say "oldies" endend in 1964 when the beatles and the brittish invasion came to america.
its a judgement/opinion call.
i may have slipped on american industrial/manufacturing history, but rock&roll history is my thing.
we(the USA) did invent rock&roll but england did perfect it w/ the beatles and the stones.
i could go on for days, but this is a topic for another day/thread
Truly subjective but as already stated: most agree on certain parameters that can overlap a bit. I had this same question on what the definition was whenever I created a site http://vintagetoolsguide.com/ because I got tired of looking up resources.
Please don't flog me on a "shameless plug" if it's against the rules - I'll edit it out if needed.
Please don't flog me on a "shameless plug" if it's against the rules - I'll edit it out if needed.
IRQVET
Well-known member
I agree with this assessment. I also equate vintagetools to ones made before hard plastics became popular.
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