Tools for Working Wood is a hardware store located at 112, 26th street Brooklyn, NY 11232. Located in the neighborhood of sunset park the store is tucked into one of the side streets north of 3rd ave by the water front. The location is in close proximity to the Hilti store as well as a stone throws from major hardware retailers such as Home Depot, Lowes, and budget favorite Harbor Freight. To get to the store by train you must take the D,N, or R train to 36th and walk the rest of the way, from there to get to the store you must walk past a meat market, (indicative by the smell of live chickens) and walk to the end of 26th street.
The store deals primarily in high end hand tools, not an uncommon sight are the Japanese Saws, and a vast selection of hand planes, chisels and carving knives. As well as dealing in hand tools the store is also a distributor for Festool selling a variety of power tools and accessories by the German manufacturer. The quality of the tools is indicative largely by the manufacturers and the hefty price tags. A motto of the store is “Invest in your craft. Invest in yourself” and the investment part of the phrase is quite serious.They also have an extensive selection of router bit and literature relating to woodworking.
The staff was very friendly and as the place is not extremely busy they took the time to help me when I asked questions regarding some of the hand tools they had. They proved to be quite knowledgeable about their stock as they seemed equally proud of the craft. This comes as no surprise as they frequently hold workshops and seminars in the store. The store itself is quite open with a workshop located in the back half of it so navigating and locating things was a breeze. It was relatively easy to access the store on bike but I imagine that taking the train there will prove to be a journey its own regard, though a journey there is well worth it. The store stands out as it deals largely in hand tools for working wood as the name of the store indicates, and not much else. They have a selection of power tools but its limited in scope and variety as mentioned earlier. The purpose of the store is clear and how much they adhere to it is admirable, they have a really good selection of router bits. So while I would not think of supplying my shop ( when I will own one) but I do think they are good for building a personal array of hand tools or specialty items.
