Today I thought I was just picking up heel cap cutting dies/moulds from a Seller on Marktplaats (the Dutch equivalent of Craigslist) and drove 1.5 hours each way to pick them up.

When I got there, the seller mentioned the moulds belonged to his uncle, a cobbler from Delft who worked well into his late 80s. Not a hobbyist, someone who did this day in, day out. The seller and his wife (a lovely and enthusiastic elderly couple) asked me if I work with leather regularly because he had more from his uncle and thought I might be interested in his old leather-craft tools and items.

He started showing me boxes of tools, stamps, patterns, books… and it just kept going. He had two large boxes full of his uncle's inheritance.

I only had €80 cash on me. I told him I could only offer €80, fully expecting him to decline or to pick a few items. But instead, he accepted the offer and said he loved making someone happy with his uncle's old working tools (and mainly that the tools would be used again), and suddenly, I was loading what felt like his uncle's legacy: tools, patterns, and pieces of his life’s work.

**Some highlights from what I took with me so far:**

* Large collection of stamping tools (including full alphabets and decorative sets)
* Swivel knife
* Tooling stamps in two beautiful custom wooden block tool/stamp holders; the uncle made a beautifully stamped leather sheath around the blocks
   * (I counted 105+ tooling stamps)
* Cutting moulds
* Old Craftool/Tandy patterns and books
* Hand-drawn tracing sheets (including multiple big sheets with multiple patterns)
* A few finished tooled pieces, like a wallet and some tooled and painted work
* Various punches, knives, leather cord, leather samples, etc.
* A beautiful collection of his personal stuff, including:
   * Printing plates from his shop
   * guild-related items
   * old promotion material from his shop
   * photographs and news articles from his shop

What’s been sticking with me is that this wasn’t just “tools in a box”; this was someone’s trade, built up over decades and clearly loved and used. I don’t know if I’m explaining it well, but I don't feel like “look at me, I got a great deal.” It feels more like I inherited the responsibility to actually use all of it properly and respectfully (which I will).

I’m not planning to sell any of it. My goal is to actually learn from his old works and put his tools back to work.

Still going through everything and figuring out what’s what. If anyone recognises specific tools, stamps, patterns, or has advice on restoring/maintaining older tools, I’d love to hear it!

I always thought those “inherited a whole workshop” posts were kind of exaggerated… until today