Jonathan Thornton

All of the tools shown below have been designed and handcrafted by Jonathan Thornton. Jonathan uses his extensive collection of historic hand tools to demonstrate to students traditional techniques used by craftsmen around the world. On a recent trip to Zanzibar, Tanzania, Jonathan learned traditional boatmaking techniques. Inspired by his visit, Jonathan drew and photographed the boatmakers' tools so that he could make reproductions when he returned to Buffalo.
Adze

	2 elbow adzes	adzes from the side

Carving an adze with an adze	ends of adzes	adzes in use

adze	adze top	adze bottom
An adze serves for smoothing rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. The user stands astride a board or log and swings the adze down towards their feet, clipping, chipping, and or cutting off a piece of wood, and walking backwards as they go, leaving a relatively smooth surface behind. However, in general usage, the adze can be used for other cutting operations, such as tree cutting. (Wikipedia)
Atlatl

Jonathan throwing an atlatl	Atlatl ibex form	Ibex form handle on an atlatl
An atlatl is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in throwing darts, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to transfer energy derived from muscular energy during the throw. It consists of a shaft with a handle on one end and a spur or cup on the other, against which the butt of the spear rests. The spear is thrown by the action of the upper arm and wrist in conjunction with a shift of balance of the body. An atlatl can readily cast a well made dart to ranges greater than 100 meters. (Wikipedia)
Beaver Tooth Knife

Underside of Beaver knife	Beaver tooth tools	Face of Beaver knife
A tool made from the chisel-shape tooth of the beaver is used as a gouge for making the hollows for the fingers in throwing-sticks, for cutting groves, and for excavating hollows in fashioning boxes, masks, spoons, and wooden dishes. The smooth back of the tooth is also used as a polishing instrument for finishing woodwork, and the carved outer edge serves for sharpening knives by rubbing it sharply along the blades. (18th Annual Report from the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1896-97)
Bowdrill Bit and Bow

Bowdrill bit and bow	Bowdrill	Bowdrill handle
The bow drill is an ancient tool. While it was usually used to make fire, it was also used for primitive woodworking and dentistry. It consists of a bearing block or handhold, a spindle or drill, a hearth or fireboard, and a simple bow. The spindle, carved to reduce friction at one end and maximize it at the other, is held at one end by the bearing block, and at the other by the hearth. The string of the bow is wrapped once around it, so that it is taut enough not to slip during operation. (Wikipedia)
Carving Scorps
Carving scorps are essentially right-angled gouges designed for carving areas where the full length of a conventional gouge will not fit. Knife carvers find them useful for hollowing deep or narrow cavities. They are similar to chisels and gouges for relief woodcarving. (www.flexcut.com)
Mocotaugan

Mocotaugan	Fern and fiddle knife	Chip carved crooked knife
Inspired by the tool-making traditions of northeastern Native Americans and the people of the South Pacific, these crooked knife tools, called “mocotaugan,” are used for carving. Jonathan employed an Iroquois technique, casting a pewter inlay to hold the blade in the handle. (finewoodworking.com)
Crooked Knives

Eagle crooked knife head	Eagle crooked knife	Crooked knife Mic Mac style
The crooked knife is a utilitarian knife used for carving and commonly found amongst the native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands as well as non-native woodsmen. The crooked in "crooked knife" refers to its unusual shape with the handle set at an oblique angle to the blade. The blade can be straight or curved, long or short and can be made of a steel forged specifically for the knife, or from reused hardened steel from another source.The shape of the blade, whether curved or straight is, a function of the carving purpose of the user, Straight for whittling wood, making splints for baskets and incising, curved for hollowing out bowls and masks and ladels, as well as myriad other usages. (Wikipedia)
Router

Router from front	Router from side	Router from bottom
A router is a woodworking tool used to route out (hollow out) an area in the face of a piece of wood. It was a tool particularly used by pattern makers and staircase makers and consisted of a broad-based wooden hand plane with a narrow blade projecting well beyond its base plate. (Wikipedia)
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