What is a collector and why are they despised by many???

My wife was reading this over my shoulder and she said I was both a collector and a hoarder. As you can see by my Sig I collect Old Iron most are being used and a few are not.

The reason there not is because I have 3 or 4 of them. I just saved them from the scrap man. Someone on here told me once that collecting Machinery's Handbooks was like collecting the Gideon Bible because they all say the same thing.


Will I use them all Know but a full set will be worth more to someone. My reply to him was I collect guns also and they all do the same thing, But some do it better than others.

So call me a collector or a hoarder I don't really care as long as its not late for dinner.

Paul
 
There are three types of collectors:
Visual collectors - They like the way something looks. They gather great enjoyment from its visual appeal.
Physical collectors - It is about the man-object interface. How it feels in the hands.
Usage collectors - It is how the collectors uses each item in their inventory.

For most of us, we are a combination of all three to varied percentages to reach 100%. Just like in learning, we all learn either through seeing, hearing and/or doing. For most machinist, it is the usage collector. There are a number of specialized single purpose tools used for only special occasions and tasks. Not everything is as universal as a ball peen hammer or philips screwdriver. We purchase/make the tools to make our work better, faster, stronger, less stressful.

Personally, life is to be lived and used. I use (some would say abuse) the items I have. The great ones can stand up to the powers of my imagination, endure my long hours of tinkering trying to understand them, and also serve to enrich my life and the ones around me. Less than ideals are cast away with better quality replacements as my skills grow, knowledge increases, and refinement reaps greater rewards.
 
I think it is pretty much a moot point and only reveals the lack of understanding between individuals.
At the opposite end of the scale I have a colleague who keeps changing (new) cars just because he wants the latest gadget.
When I attempt to talk technology with him, it is a dead end, he has no clue. The current cars see only the official dealership. I don't think he could check the oil level to save his life.

Well, my first reaction is anger, revolt etc. because I think he "doesn't get it". Then I cool down and realize that if he can afford it and he likes it, who am I to judge?

I would collect cars, wrecks even (if I could afford it) just so I could work on them, fix them. Needless to say the same goes for machines of any kind.
As such a kind, I believe we should be granted the same tolerance.

And I don't think collectors of tools, specifically, significantly drive the prices either way. (just an opinion, I don't have statistics to back it up)
 
Some collectors with unlimited funds can buy whatever they want as many as they want which then drives the price up for the rest of us. This type of collector is annoying. I don't mind people that use what they collect. Most people on this forum are going to use and fix what we collect and buy. My metal tools (mill and lathe) are used to fix my other hobbies and not an collection in itself. Collectors can drive the price on items to unreasonable highs. Right now I am more worried about the price of scrap iron on metal tools then collectors.
 
If there were no collectors and hoarders there would be no garage sales.
 
Gordon Clarke said:
I've collected quite a bit over the years but my wife says it's because I hate to throw stuff out or away. I've bought some tools I've never used (I'm sure I will use them one day :D) and some I use once every blue moon. Don't burst my balloon but I regard myself more as a normal male than a nutter ;)
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About describes me to a "T" and probably most guys on here. :biggrin:

Gordon Clarke said:
There might, just might, be an exception :D

How many women do you know that could walk past a clothes or shoe shop that had the sign SALE in the window and end up buying something never to be worn and just become one more item (or pair) in their collection?

When aked the eyelids flutter and "It was a real bargain" arguement stops all further discussions.Only a newlywed husband would try and take that discussion further :D

Gordon
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I figured this one out years ago. Now, to justify my purchases to my wife I use language she, A) can understand, and B) can't argue with. It goes something like this, "But Hon, it was on SALE! I saved $$$$ buying it now." :cool::biggrin:

-Ron
 
burnrider said:
If there were no collectors and hoarders there would be no garage sales.
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Oh my! That would be sad. If there were no garage sales (and never had been) my shop would be pretty empty. Heck, I could probably walk around in it.

I like it better this way. Sure I have tools that seldom get used, but when they do get used I'm really glad to have them.
 
Well I have been a collector for as long as I can remember. I used to drive hundreds of miles in search of a piece of rare or unusual farm equipment, Some acquaintances used to call me crazy and claimed all this junk should be scrapped and others would praise me for saving such pieces of our heritage. Eventually I narrowed my collection to specific brands or categories. When I first started collecting farm machinery I was picking up IH because that was what I first started working with when a kid. Then a friend I met was collecting Massey Harris because he felt someone needed to preserve that part of our Canadian farm heritage. I then added Cockshutt to my collecting as that was another Canadian piece of our heritage not being seriously preserved.
Back in the mid eighties a group of us neighbors started a heritage weekend on our road which stretched for about 5 miles or more. We had nothing but positive feed back from the thousand or so folks that came out to join us each year. We had everything from maple syrup demonstrations to buck skinner encampment and everything in between. Our road was the first road through the county which had started as an Indian trail. Those days lasted ten years before they started to peter out. Some of us where getting exhausted by the amount of work involved and the insurance companies started to get paranoid and demanded a ransom for their coverage.
In 1991 my new bride thought we should have something for the ladies to look at as my collection consisted of mainly male oriented items, namely farm, service station and tools. So we added sewing machines to the mix. She tells people it was her hobby but became my obsession. I think sometimes that tends to happen to us. Anyway, as others became interested in IH and Cockshutt collecting it grew to a point where I was involved in the formation of both International collector clubs for these two brands and served ten years on the Cockshutt club board. We also started the Canadian Sewing machine collectors club. We no longer get hassled about our collecting and even were featured with our 100+ sewing machine collection on National TV once as well as news papers across the country. Now that we are passing 70 my wife insists we need to start down sizing and the majority of our best sewing machines have found new homes in other museums.
When I had my shop in town before retiring about three years ago we sometimes got some dirty looks from our neighbors as we would bring a new piece home there and parked it behind the shop waiting to be restored, but for the most part we had no problems. We had a 75 foot long buggy shed along the back of our lot and we had it filled. When we closed up and started pulling the cars, tractors and implements out to move them home you should have seen the people that stopped to look and or photograph the stuff. Many people had never seen that sort of thing, and I actually sold everything I would part with as I did not have room for it all at home in a matter of days.
So not all people despised our collecting and we have gained many new friends in he process.
 
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On the beneficial side,if not for collectors,we'd never get to see the variety of objects that they have at shows. They do drive prices up,but at least they are preserving the remaining items they collect.

I have made most of my extra money working for a collector,making the missing parts,or repairing them. So,knowing collectors has a beneficial side.

I'm not a collector myself. I have a lot of tools,but they are tools to use,not just to look at.
 
george wilson said:
On the beneficial side,if not for collectors,we'd never get to see the variety of objects that they have at shows. They do drive prices up,but at least they are preserving the remaining items they collect.

I have made most of my extra money working for a collector,making the missing parts,or repairing them. So,knowing collectors has a beneficial side.

I'm not a collector myself. I have a lot of tools,but they are tools to use,not just to look at.
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A thought struck me when I read, "They do drive prices up, ..." and that is, do they really? What I mean is, when you look at the material cost (in present day $$$) as well as the man-hours that went in to producing the part then compare it to current manufacturing costs/rates, throw in the fact that "they aren't making any more", and the time/effort gone in to preserve/restore the piece are they really THAT expensive?

You could buy a '69 Mustang new for $600. Today, "collectors" have pushed the price up to say $15,000 (guessing here guys - just an example). Wow, that sounds really expensive for a $600 car but could you manufacture or buy a comparable car today for that $15,000? Probably not, so the current price is still pretty "cheap" considering all else.

Just a thought (I don't have many so have to do my best with the ones I get ;))

-Ron
 
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