By now it is no secret that Sandy and I love old tools. In our recent visit to New England we had a chance to visit the Sloane-Stanley Museum, and the old tools it contains. It is a terrific depository of old hand tools, and all sorts of Americana, from the personal collection of Eric Sloane, the renowned artist.

A terrific display of old braces, at the Sloane-Stanley Museum:

The following is marked “Philadelphia, c. 1765″ (third from top in the photo above); the illustration above the brace mentions not only the approximate year, but also the components of the brace:

If you find yourself anywhere near Kent, CT, plan to visit the Museum. But be sure to check the schedule, as budget constraints limit the number of days to only one per week.

Acknowledgment: I thank Ms. Barbara Russ of the Sloane-Stanley Museum, for allowing me to take photographs for publication on this blog. Although her official title is not “Curator”, she demonstrates the knowledge and research ability to be the Museum Curator.

——  Al Navas

Related posts:
Previous entries about the Sloane-Stanley Museum in Kent, CT

Click on the images to enlarge them.

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Meet Korey Zink, Owner of Custom Carvings in Lanesborough, Mass. Korey uses a chain saw to produce all of his carvings, and on occasion will resort to smaller tools to get the results he wants.

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Sandy and I drove by his home when we were going through Lanesborough; I was paying attention to traffic when Sandy, on her cell phone with our daughter,  gestured frantically to turn around. I had just missed the display of carvings on Korey’s driveway and lawn, and lined along the outer wall of his house.

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To our delight, we made it back just fine, and introduced ourselves to Korey and his uncle, who lives in the same house. He was very kind to take time out from his carving, to talk to us and answer a myriad questions about his work.

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For example, we learned that he gets inspiration for his work from many sources, including news clips, little resin figures imported from the Far East, photographs, etc. His lawn is where he displays finished carvings, with finished pieces all showing their price clearly.

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Korey is proud to have the avid support of the community, which is admirable. Where we live, such display might be frowned upon or, worse yet, we might get a visit from the local Deputy Sheriff. Clearly, Korey is passionate about his work, and about his environment.

You can reach Korey via e-mail at knszink at verizon.net.

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