Accidental Collection of Tool Grinders

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Pedal power – provided by Robert Schwab – gets this McCormick-Deering chain-driven sickle bar grinder going.

Robert Schwab didn't plan to be a collector of tool grinders. It just happened. 

"I swapped for a grinder to fix the mower I had," he says. "I hadn't realized I was collecting until I had a lot of them. It used to be that at every farm sale there was a tool grinder. Now they're rare. I don't know why that is. I'm interested in buying or trading, but I'm low budget."

Robert has two big barns at his home outside Hagerstown, Md. One contains a workshop where he used to fix and rebuild buggy wheels for local owners. He has an extensive collection of old tools, some handmade, and a variety of equipment related to horses, wagons, and horse-drawn equipment. Tucked away in a protected corner is a 1914 horse-drawn mail wagon originally from Inwood, W.Va. In the adjoining paddock, there's an ancient horse named King.

A native of Erie, Pa., Robert grew up working on a farm and is familiar with rural life. Prior to retirement, he was employed at a Hagerstown truck factory as a heating and refrigeration mechanic.

"I've always liked old stuff," he says. "I have a lot of one-horse stuff. Most stuff is for two horses. I've got a Jones Junior one-horse mower that's 100 years old."

His tool grinder collection includes more than 30 different types of implements used for sharpening tools around the farm. In 1998, he built himself a special wagon with fold-down sides in which to display the tool grinders he has restored. Hitched to a one-ton flatbed truck, it's a rig that is familiar to show-goers in a four-state area.

"I do get a lot of compliments on it," he says. "If you don't like to show off a little bit, you wouldn't go to these shows. I go to 10 or 12 a year."

Besides the familiar sickle bar grinders, Robert has a chisel grinder and one that sharpens harrow disks. There's also a husker shredder grinder, and a knife sharpener. Scattered here and there around the barns are another 20 to 30 grinders waiting for his attention, along with cabinets full of parts he's picked up along the way. There's also an Ideal Lawn Mower Grinder made by Root Heath Manufacturing Company, Plymouth, Ohio, designed to sharpen the blades on old reel mowers.

Robert is not especially concerned about the exact ages of the individual pieces in his collection.

"How do you put a date on something that's made between 1860 and 1940?" he asks. "You know something because of the time the company was in business. I research a lot of patents. I've got copies of 145 of them. The earliest is 1868. I go down to the Patent Office in Crystal City (Va.) and look for them."