Tools are not the tools...

There's a blog I follow that occasionally has articles about tools:  http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com
It kind of reminded me of my college days when I roomed with a guy who really was into wrenching on engines. His favorite saying was "tools are not the tools". Now "Crazy Bob" was a joker, but what I think  he meant is that you need to think things through before starting to tear into something. It isn't just the tool,  it takes brain power to get'er done.
Anyway, I never owned my own tools until I went off to school, I'd always borrowed some from my brother, dad or neighbor. so eventually had to buy my own. Now I have three roll-away tool chests full of them. But it all started with one crescent wrench; there's a few more now...

The top wrench, a 12 incher made by Diamond Tool of Duluth, MN, came from the Tractor Supply Center (TSC) in DeKalb, Il. I bought it just before I left for Alaska in '76, the great Buy Centennial year.  A big tool for a big move.

The next one is an 8 incher that I got at a local surplus store in the Chicago area back in the late 60's. It was in a big barn shaped building, crammed floor to ceiling with army surplus stuff and cheap tools. I loved that place. Made in Spain, this is the first tool I ever bought.

The next is a 6 incher that came from a hardware store in Delta Jct, AK. I was on my way to a job in Chicken, a mining town on the Taylor Hwy, and had forgot something, maybe some nails or screws, I forget. Anyway, I saw this on the bargain-bin table and couldn't resist. It's a cheap Chinese knock off and seldom gets used.

The bottom one is a 4 incher that came from my father's tool box after he died. There was an 8 incher in there too that I still have. This little one was probably the most used of all of them, until I got a good set of small combination wrenches. It's the only made in the USA Crescent brand wrench I own. Amazing!