BOOK REVIEW: Man & His Tools

• Man & His Tools – A History of Hand Tools
• Author: Gil Rogers
• Format: Hardcover, 412 pages, full colour, contains 1700 itemised photographs
• Edition: First, 2026
• Cost: $124

‘An illustrated journey through the history of hand tools used over the centuries to work wood, metal, masonry, and other materials.’

Review: Mike Preeston

What defines a tool? A chisel is undoubtedly a tool, as is a flintlock tinder lighter (Item 5.104) and a cat’s head turning hammer (3.189). But how about a first mate’s persuader (3.364)? Or a signal cannon thunder mug (3.348.1)?

Gil asks this question in his monumental and impressive book. He himself defines a tool as an object one uses in order to make it easier to perform a task, whether that task be for pleasure or for work. Thus, say, a tipstaff (1.23) was a tool which was issued to a court officer to authorise him to issue a warrant. And a church warden’s smoking pipe (5.440) was a tool used to enhance or induce pleasure for the smoker.

The reader may argue the point, but it makes for some lively and entertaining discussions. Gil has illustrated more than one thousand seven hundred tools in his book, from the familiar working tools, to the rare, the ancient, and the beautiful. So there is plenty here for the debate on what comprises a tool.

Gil first conceived of the idea of producing a book like this some 30 years ago, but it was only about five years ago that he started to put that thought into action. The finished product is an impressive and magnificently illustrated work. Yes, it is a coffee table book, it makes for compulsive and endless perusing. But it is also undoubtedly a book for the library of books on tools.

The enormous range of tools Gil has photographed is almost encyclopaedic, and he claims that he has more, plenty more that he could have included. Each time he thought he was ready to send his manuscript to the publishers another new and fascinating item would turn up, and then another.

Gil is himself an accomplished cabinetmaker, as can be seen in his beautifully made dovetailed steel smoothing plane (1.09), or his blackwood and ivory inlay grease box (2.64). Thus it stands to reason that the tools he has selected for his book are either interesting, rare or unusual, and many of course simply exquisite to behold. The detail that went into the making of tools 200 years ago is testimony to the pride the makers back then had in their work, which sadly we simply don't see today in the mass produced tools on offer in a hardware store.

Man and His Tools is a truly impressive book, and I for one look forward to acquiring a hardcover copy as soon as it becomes available.

Mike Preeston is a retired airline pilot with a long term interest in collecting tools. He has been a member of the Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia (HTPAA) for more than twenty years.

Man and His Tools is available from manandhistools.com.au where you can also see sample pages.

Learn more about the Hand Tool Preservation Association at https://www.htpaa.org.au/

A note from the author, Gil Rogers:

My love of tools started when I was ten, I put together a workshop in my dad’s garage. At 15 I started an apprenticeship as a carpenter and joiner which led to being foreman on medium to large works. My love of collecting tools lead me to the Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia, where my knowledge increased tenfold thanks to the membership.

I have sourced my collection from markets, international antique fairs, and auctions all around the world. My friends who have contributed and have allowed me to photograph special pieces from their collections.

Tools have shaped human history as surely as ideas have. From the earliest sharpened stones to the most ingenious devices of today, each tool tells a story – not only of its purpose, but of the people who created, adapted, and relied on it. This book is a celebration of those stories.

Within these pages lies a varied and fascinating collection of tools: some humble, some complex; some forgotten by time, others still essential to daily life. They come from workshops and kitchens, from farms and laboratories, from craftspeople, inventors, and cultures across the world. Each has earned its place here not merely by its function, but by the ingenuity, craft, and history behind it.

My hope is that this book will inspire curiosity – about how things work, about the minds that conceived them, and about the quiet impact that even the simplest tool can have. Whether you are a maker, a collector, a historian, or simply someone who appreciates clever design, may these tools spark the same sense of wonder in you that they inspired in me.