Antique Tools

Man in history, although much more primitive thanhand to fitting a handle to it. This gave the blow
those who live today, used his brain and mademuch more force and so made it easier to cut
implements and devices which would help him towood or break open heads. Long flints were fixed
survive. He had to have food to live and he hadto wooden handles. If the handles were long, they
to defend himself from wild animals which roamedhad spears, short handles made knives.
the forests. He had his bare hands, but a handGradually stone way replace by metal. All antique
can only do certain number of things; and althoughtools are the product of primitive tools. Planes,
it is quite useful for delicate operations like pickingsaws and chisels are all antique tools developed by
out thorns and splinters, it is useless for cutting upcarpenters over many centuries. Each one got its
meat or skinning animals. Something else had toshape and size by a gradual evolution. What we
be found and man invented tools.use is the modern version of these antique tools.
The simplest tool which man used was a stone. ACarpenters have to do other things with the
stone of the right shape and weight could be usedwood apart from cutting it. Drills and awls make a
to club animal to death, to hack lumps of fleshneat hole and the earliest was a twisted round a
from it or to break open nuts and shells. Thesharp twig. The string turned the drill first
easiest way of getting such a stone was to lookclockwise and then anti-clockwise. This has now
for it. Another way which also improved thebeen replaced by a rotating handle which drives
shape was to chip or grind the stone with athe borer or hit through gears. Antique tools were
harder one.very important devices. It was used very
The best stone for making tools was flint. Theseaccurately and properly to get the work done.
tools made by primitive man are called hand-axesThe development of primitive tools to antique
now. They are thought to have been used in alltools the recent machine tools has taken the
kinds of way such as for chopping and cuttingevolution from stone hand-axes to power tools
wood, for digging and even as weapons.one step further.
It was a short step from holding the axe in the