Miters, clamps, squares, bevels, gauges, handsaws, backsaws, planes of a dozen kinds, adzes, hatchets, scrapers, chisels, chamfering devices, boring and threading tools, and striking tools of all kinds -- these handtools traditionally have been the base upon which all craftsmanship was built. These tools for shaping and joining wood were handmade with immense care and skill, and they became the objects of revery and respect. In Traditional Woodworking Handtools, Graham Blackburn has compiled the most authoritative volume available on the subject -- and it will be a delight to all woodworkers. Blackburn meticulously presents the history, description, and use of hundreds of valuable handtools -- and his more than four hundred line drawings clearly illustrate the text. Traditional Woodworking Handtools is both an essential reference and a hands-on manual for anyone interested in the craftsmanship inherent in woodworking. This uniquely engaging guide to all major classes of woodworking handtools -- the product of forty years' practical experience -- is the perfect companion to Salaman's Dictionary of Woodworking Tools.