My guest today Eric from Hand Tool Rescue gets his high from delving into the stories of the old and forgotten tools of the world. Digging up patents and talking with collectors from all around the world to understand the story behind the tool.
In this episode Eric shares
- The real reasons why he really loves restoring tools.
- The stories behind finding and attaining those rare tools
- He shares some crazy Patent stories,
- Along with the weird and wonderful people of tool collecting.
- And we finish up talking about his White whale. The one tool he desires most.
The stories behind the tools!
We are biologically wired to enjoy a good story. That’s often why we love digging up the past and in Eric’s case, digging up the weird and wonderful world of old tools.
From the time cavemen sat around campfires and told stories about a challenging bear hunt or a fishing adventure – stories offered an effective mechanism for knowledge transfer.
From this perspective, the campfire was the social media platform of the day. That congregated all community members to engage in an in-person information exchange. And that’s how communities developed shared identities and culture.
Likes, comments, and shares were all given verbally
As time passed, these campfire stories were transformed into legends that were passed from one generation to the next.
Today, the new campfire is Netflix or YouTube. We use these and other platforms to get entertainment
The power of storytelling whether it’s a movie, political campaign or youtube video, is built on the
timeless three-act story structure:
1) Setting
2) Conflict
3) Resolution
The stories behind the tools are no different And today I’m hoping Eric will share with us some of the stories he as come across when getting his oxytocin high from researching, finding and restoring old tools.
QUESTIONS:
1) What is it about old tools that really gets your rocks off?
2) What is your most treasured tool and what’s the story behind it?
3) Often, some of these tools you are hard to find and attain which adds to their story. What’s the one tool that stands out with regards to finding and attaining it?
4) You do a lot of research especially in weird and wonderful world of patents. Is there a particular patent story that has captivated you and made you want that tool even more?
5) Collecting old things you often have to deal with “special “people with “character” Has there been collector or individual that has captured your imagination with their story?
6) What is your “white whale” tool and what’s its story?
RAPID FIRE 5
1) What is something people get wrong about you?
2) What is something you like doing that has nothing to do with making or restoring?
3) What project is completely priceless that you could never sell?
4) What does happiness look like?
5) Who should be the next guest on the podcast?