Photo-a-Day  (Monday, 21st January, 2019)

Good photo Mick, so, let's have a try at what the various tools were made for. Contest rules to follow?

Not being able to see them properly I think there are two hand garden tools, the large prominent one, a bill hook for laying hedges, the small part concealed one could be a slaters tool for replacing slipped slates.

All my tools no matter what design are generally used for knocking nails in.

Your correct Anne it is bill hook for laying hedges,the one part hidden is a daisy plucker

It's a Yorkshire Billhook,but the handle is missing,I have a very old complete one.

These remind me of the time my Dad took me to a craft and hobbies
Exhibition in the old Drill Hall in Powell Street in around 1961/2. I was around 10 at the time. On one of the stands was a board with the Bulldog Tools Name and mounted on it were a large number of miniature examples of the range of garden tools produced by the company We were told that these were made by the Apprentices as part of their training. I have often wondered if this was true. Does anybody know ?

Carolaen, your thought is quite correct, back in the 1940/50/60s apprentices always made smaller versions as part of their training, most engineering companies did the same. Model aircraft in metal, railway engines etc depending on the type of work. One of my uncles made a Spitfire which was actually a cigarette lighter, by spinning the propeller it produced a spark to light the wick.

That’s what we need now , more apprenticeships , like the old days. You’ve got young guys selling drugs and stabbing each other , with no grounding .
As an apprentice, well I was , told from day one , what I could and could not do . If you slacked off you were told to take your finger out in no uncertain terms . All the while you learned a trade and the people in the factory became like family . It’s a great training for life . Now we have legions of wayward souls with absolutely no direction or purpose .

What would the Apprentices make, Dave, that the Chinese and Indians or even Robots couldn’t make cheaper?

Cheap imports don't last five minutes, when items had the stamp made in England you knew it was top quality made and last.

DTease , Fair point . Credit to you for mentioning other cultures . People on here don’t seem to want to recognise our industries need to compete with the rest of the world . It’s easier to say remember when . As shown , the money will always go to London first and towns like Wigan last

I agree with you Garry but, sadly, people tend to go for the cheapest these days rather than the best. Nothing is made to last a lifetime anymore.

Built in obsolescence friends. Remember the Man in the White Suit.