I’ve followed Vintage Tool Shop on Instagram for a long time. They always post really nice tools for sale – plus their own line of handsaws that they make (by hand) in the workshop in the back of the store.
So it was a fanboy moment last week when we drove by their shop and I saw the familiar logo. “Ack – that’s the place I’ve been following for so long!”
I had no idea the store was so close to where I was teaching for Wood Dust Australia. After class ended on Friday afternoon, I begged a ride to Vintage Tool Shop from chairmaker Bern Chandley.
There, Mike Subritzky and his wife, Mari, greeted us, gave us a tour and then set us loose in the shop.
The storefront is absolutely filled with high-quality woodworking tools, all of them restored and in good working order as far as I could tell. The store has almost everything, from worker tools to high-end collectible pieces. I got lost in the hammers for a good 20 minutes. The French handplane section – yes, a whole section on French handplanes – was amazing. And just seeing how everything was displayed in vintage buckets, shelving and woven baskets was a real pleasure.
In addition to the vintage tools, the shop sells a full line of handsaws that they make on the premises called Heritage Saws Melbourne. The saws are made using simple machines and hand tools and look impressive.
After five full days of teaching, I was worn out. But I’m going back on Saturday (my day off) to take a close look at their inventory.
Seriously, Vintage Tool Shop is one of the most impressive tool storefronts I’ve ever seen. If you are ever in Melbourne, plan an afternoon to visit.
— Christopher Schwarz
Ha, I’ll be just down the road from there tomorrow (Saturday), I won’t come and fanboy. They’ll sell spare parts if you ask nicely too, not everything is on display.
If you are still around the following weekend (18th I think) the hand tool preservation association of Australia is having one of their sales, in Melbourne. It’s reasonable sized and normally worth picking through.
I’m totally jealous.
And the little vvet-lined plane cubbies? I’ve always feared that I’d spend my dotage making those.
The quilt on the back wall isn’t bad either….