Junkyarddog Report post Posted August 5, 2015 Last week I was at a local scrap yard looking for some steel for a project I was working on and a young man in his 20's was trying to sell a huge box of tools he inherited to the owner for scrap. The man said that some were marked stainless but the owner did not want them. From time to time I make sheaths and covers for my axes and knives and have thought about stamping some designs in the leather for decoration, so I was interested in what he had for sale. The guy wanted $100 for the stamps which did not seem like a bad deal, but I only had 70 bucks in cash, so we settled on 70 cash and the case russlock pocket knife I had on me. I took the tools to a guy I met a few times that does leatherwork and he offered me $250 for the set which I almost took, but something about the way he was looking at some of the tools made me decide to do some further research. I have found out quite a bit of information about the craftool stamps and barry king stamps, but not much about the others. I have decided to keep the tools marked craft tool co which there are about 85 of them and try my hand in stamping leather. I am thinking about selling the others to possibly pay for some other leather working tools and maybe picking up leather work as a hobby. If anyone could let me know if any of the stamps have any value.. I'm looking to either sale or trade the stamps for other leather working tools and leather to possibly make a rifle case and maybe some bags or pouches for hunting/trapping.. there are 85 craft tool co 12 robert beard (the black tools with gold lettering which look pretty cool) 19 gore tool 3 Cha Smith 8 Horse Shoe 7 Hack barth 10 Barry King Any help would be appreciated or if anyone is interested in the tools please let me know Also this website has already answered alot of my questions and seems to have tons of valuable information for someone new like myself, so thank you whoever stated this website. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King's X Report post Posted August 5, 2015 You have kinda a jackpot. To give you an idea on cost and value of your find.........I would sell the Craftools to pay for what you paid and keep the rest. The Beard tools are about $50 a piece as new. I own a few Gore tools and they are top notch. To my understanding, I do not believe they are actively selling Gore tools though you can still buy them. Barry King and Chuck Smith are still hot on the market and still for sale. The Hackbarth tools, it depends though you have a good bunch. I would say the older the HB tools are better value though the new ones are still made the same when Ellis Barnes owned the company. Horse Shoe brand tools are the brand name of Mr. Jeremiah Watt in California though he is bicycling around the world at the moment. You can view his tools and prices at www.Ranch2area.com. I hope this helps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Junkyarddog Report post Posted August 5, 2015 Thank you for the information you provided King's X. When I saw $50 a piece for the Beard tools I thought that was expensive, but I assume professional leather workers are like professional mechanics and the better tools last longer and work better. I looked through the horse shoe and chuck smith site and they both have some beautiful tools. There are actually 2 chuck smith and 1 black pro series cutting knives that came with the tools, so it looks like I am off to a good start to learn how to tool leather. I was planning on keeping the craftool stamps since there is such a variety of tools, but it looks like some of the tools I have might be hard to replace if I really get into this as a hobby. I can say after playing around with all of the tools, the Gore tools are my favorite. The Gore tools just feel better in my hand and work better with my large hands since they are quite a bit longer than the others. Maybe I will try the tools out for a while to see what I like and maybe sell the beard tools since they seem to have the higher value to help get other things I will need. edgers,hole punches, strap punches, round knives and that is just what I think I need so far. Well anyways thank you King's x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
camano ridge Report post Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) To buy a lot of the Beard tools new will cost you more then $50.00 each. Trust me I just bought some from Robert. The Barry kings tend to run about $40.00 and up for new. If you are intent on selling some of them I would suggest listing there numbers as well as a picture of an impression of each stamp. There may be several of us on this sight interested in buying some of those stamps. Edited August 5, 2015 by camano ridge Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King's X Report post Posted August 5, 2015 Enjoy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smirak Report post Posted August 5, 2015 I don't know what your budget is (or isn't), but my opinion would be to keep all the tools for now to see what you like. It's possible you have doubles of some stuff, like pear shaders or basketweave tools. You could keep what you've got, get the rest of the stuff you want/need on the cheap and then start selling off what you don't use/like. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
immiketoo Report post Posted August 5, 2015 Keep them all. You made the deal of the century! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrstn53 Report post Posted August 5, 2015 That was an amazing find. I don't know if there is any scrap value, but it would have been a sin if they ended up being melted down. I can't imagine how many hours have gone into making those tools. If I were you, I would keep them all but if you figure out what tools you need you can post what you want in the wanted section and put up some of the tools you have for trade. Trade or sell, I would be interested in the gore and horse shoe brand tools. Congrats on the find Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Troy Burch Report post Posted August 5, 2015 If you get into tooling your going to seriously regret keeping the craftools and selling the others. After you learn how you'll be wanting to sell the craftools so you can upgrade to the others, you'll be saving yourself $100's of dollars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted August 5, 2015 You made an incredible find. I'm thankful you were there to keep these from being scrapped. Keep them all. Your grandkids will inherit those Beard tools and they will still look as good as they do now no matter how much you use them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted August 5, 2015 it would have been a sin if they ended up being melted down. I can't imagine how many hours have gone into making those tools. I think only the fires of Mt Doom could destroy the Robert Beard tools. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
club49 Report post Posted August 6, 2015 Great find, As far as the Hackbarth tools are concerned. About six or so months ago I saw an add which read 15 Tools $145.00. I am new to leather working, most of my tools come from Tandy's. I called the number on the add and I got a gentleman on the phone by the name of Lonnie Height. I am sure there are folks on this site whom might know Lonnie. After talking to him, I felt like I knew him all my life. He was the most informative person on the subject of Hackbarth tools you would ever want to talk to. He worked there for the original owner. He is still making tools under Gomph-Hackbarth- Lonnie Height. I purchased the tools and they are great. This is all the information I have to reach him. Hackbarthtools@hotmail.com his number is also on the flyer 520-642-3891 It will be well worth for you to give him a call, he is a really informative man when it comes to tools and leather. He will be able to give you dates how they were made and what they are worth and anything else you would want to know, he is a very nice gentelman. Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChadK69 Report post Posted November 4, 2015 If you are looking to sell the Beard tools, please pm me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwican Report post Posted November 4, 2015 freakin nice man, i haunt the antique shops all the time in the hopes of finding cool stuff like that Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LumpenDoodle2 Report post Posted November 4, 2015 I agree, hang on to them just now. The other tools you need won't cost much, and has been said, if you sell these ones, then get into leatherwork, you'll regret it. Have a bit fun with them, then make your mind up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Equiplay Saddlery Report post Posted November 4, 2015 My first thought on this is that some poor leather worker just had his tools stolen in a burglary and the typical crack/meth head was trying to get their fix selling scrap metal. Hope that wasn't the case because I would hate to have my tools stolen and end up at the scrap yard. Maybe it was a legit sale in which case you have a heck of a nice set of tools. Legally I would be careful of the too good to be true deals. At least here in Florida if you knew or should have known that the property was stolen (i.e. WAY to cheap) you can be charged with dealing in stolen property. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tanda4 Report post Posted November 4, 2015 My first thought on this is that some poor leather worker just had his tools stolen in a burglary and the typical crack/meth head was trying to get their fix selling scrap metal. Hope that wasn't the case because I would hate to have my tools stolen and end up at the scrap yard. Maybe it was a legit sale in which case you have a heck of a nice set of tools. Legally I would be careful of the too good to be true deals. At least here in Florida if you knew or should have known that the property was stolen (i.e. WAY to cheap) you can be charged with dealing in stolen property. Exactly what I was thinking. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
