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The name's Kim. The picture will reveal my gender, but if you had though otherwise, you are not
alone. Where I come from most Kim's are male.
I'm Finnish by nationality, but my own
language is Swedish, which makes me a Swedish speaking Finn. If
you're interested in my minority you can read more about us on
wikipedia.org. In short, I am born and raised in Finland by
parents born and raised in Finland, but we just happen to speak
Swedish as our first language.
I'm a journalist, married and the father
of two. I got interested in woodworking about three years ago -
out of necessity. My family hired a summer place in a secluded
place without electricity.
I think my first vintage acquisition was a bit brace and a few
auger bits. Since then it's gone from bad to worse. But I do
think I have always been latently inclined towards hand tools.
When I was a child I used to borrow my dad's and uncles's tools
- even the better ones that they tried hard to stash away. I
sometimes wonder how many Sandvik's I wrecked in those days. As
much as I'd love to call myself a woodworker, the truth is that
I'm not. I love using hand tools and I do it on a daily basis.
But my work is crude, my joints are ugly and making anything
more complex makes my head ache.
I have realized that I am better at
cleaning and renovating hand tools. And I enjoy writing about
them. I also really do not want to use the term collector. Yes,
I have fetishes and I do own too many tools, most of which I
regularly post images of on my Flickr account. But since I am
curious by nature and have developed an expensive taste, I am
constantly seeking for tools to practice my skills on. Hand saws
are my fetish, but give me a nice bit brace or a hand drill, and
I'll stay happy for the rest of the day.
My main aim however is to research and
write about the Scandinavian tool makers, which are far more
than the handful of brands known to an international audience.
The first goal was to document the Sandvik production of hadsaws,
but I have since gotten more and more involved in a broad range
of companies, including the E.A. Berg Mfg Co as well several
smaller and equally good makers of hand tools.
If you know more about Scandinavian hand
tools in general, have access to hard facts such as trade
catalogues concerning Scandinavian tool makers, I'd love to hear
from you. |
