Why is this book so scarce?
Collectors have bought them up, people have not returned them to libraries, they deteriorated in watchmaker shops or people threw them away. If you don’t recall, K&D printed this book as a catalog. They added the “how to” as a bonus to bring in orders for their products. I don’t believe the people at K&D expected it to become the definitive book on staking tools.
Right click link to download:
Staking Tools and How to Use Them 1910 – 163p BW – S.pdf (adelstein-workshop.com)
Why hasn’t someone reprinted it?
People have printed several versions of this book over the years without permission. K&D reprinted parts of the second half – known as “the last 50 pages” – in other catalogs. The last purported owner of the company implied that he only reprinted the second half because the original products were extinct.
What exactly does this book contain that’s so important?
When I think about this question, I remember how little watchmakers tools have changed since the Gilded Age. K&D already had the Inverto when the book became available. You have the opportunity to see their entire line of staking tools. That’s an extensive amount of information. At the time, the company already had the models 17 and 18 – (though very different than the ones we see today).
K&D explained the various punches and why the Inverto convention changed the length of the punches and the necessity for every stump.
It helped one identify the different numbering schemes. For example, the original scheme used a number, such as 10. Next, the “New Design” or 500 series used a letter – number scheme such as A14. After the Inverto, the scheme had sequential numbers with a “K&D” imprint, such as 40 K&D. The book provides information about each type of punch and the size or diameter of the hole or punch end.
They also explain the use of each punch and stump. That’s important information. Then they explain the different jobs that the watchmaker can accomplish with the different tools. They also explain how to do each job.
