Garden tips on vintage garden tools
Vintage garden tools
Man is a natural garden tool user. The origin of the plethora of power tools that pack the shelves of DIY stores can be traced back to prehistoric man chipping away with a piece oi rough-hewn flint. But there was onetime when these tool-using tendencies were capitalized on, and
that was the Victorian Industrial era - an age obsessed with 'things' of all kinds, garden tools no less than anything else.
that was the Victorian Industrial era - an age obsessed with 'things' of all kinds, garden tools no less than anything else.
Before the mid-18th century, a limited range of garden
tools were hand forged by the blacksmith. But the Industrial age brought not only the means for producing tools on a larger
scale hut the wealth needed to buy them. This was a time of new prosperity and for the first time, gardening became a leisure activity. Soon there was a tool or every job, from
cucumber straighteners and asparagus cutters to lawn rollers and rose pickers. And you certainly couldn't get away with calling a spade a spade - one company, C.T Skelton of
Sheffield , had an impressive 35 different garden tools varieties!
scale hut the wealth needed to buy them. This was a time of new prosperity and for the first time, gardening became a leisure activity. Soon there was a tool or every job, from
cucumber straighteners and asparagus cutters to lawn rollers and rose pickers. And you certainly couldn't get away with calling a spade a spade - one company, C.T Skelton of
Long left languishing at the back of garden sheds, old garden tools are being looked at anew, with many people discovering their beauty - the solid handmade feel,
the smooth polished wood of a handle worn down from years of use, even the build up of rust on the metal all add to the appeal. It was just such discoveries, in the sheds and cellars of old houses he moved into, that encouraged Trevor Farrell to start his collection. "I loved the way the tools showed
the marks of human wear," says Trevor. Some 20 years on and he now holds one of the world's largest collections of old garden tools- a true homage to simple, honest manual labor. What's more, this is proving a useful props resource for the film industry, and was recently dipped into by the makers of the new Beatrix Potter biopic, Miss Potter, who borrowed about 50 items, all of the sort that Beatrix would have used in the garden of her beloved Hill Top Farm.
STARTING A VINTAGE GARDEN TOOLS COLLECTION
Although antique garden tools are valued for their decorative appeal, most are extremely well made and perfectly usable, with years of good service left in them. Jenny Vaughan, owner of interiors shop RE who stock a range of antique garden tools, says: "Most people buying
tools from us are buying them to use them. Many talk about replacing a life-long tool that has been lost or broken and people are elated when they find something that replaces an old friend. I don't know whether it's a physical Or a nostalgic thing, but people who are keep on
tools from us are buying them to use them. Many talk about replacing a life-long tool that has been lost or broken and people are elated when they find something that replaces an old friend. I don't know whether it's a physical Or a nostalgic thing, but people who are keep on
Vintage garden tools don’t want to use anything else.
RESTORING OLD GARDEN TOOLS
Rusty vintage garden tools often look great left as they are, but if
you want to polish them up it's a simple, if time consuming, process. Clean the garden tool with warm water and detergent and then polish the metal with a fine-grade wire wool - if you keep going you can achieve a really nice shine. Finish with clear wax and buff up. Wax can also be applied to the wood to give it a protective but natural finish. Be careful not to over restore your items, however. By repainting chipped paintwork, for instance, or applying a tough polyurethane varnish to wood, you may lose much of what gives the tool its unique character.
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