I hold in my hand an oil pen. I'm not even sure how many of these I've used over the years or even how long I've had this particular one, though it has been in my toolbox since my dad and grandfather began giving me tools when I was in early grade school. Since this is my last one, I decided to go online to see if they even made these anymore, as they are remarkably handy and a very good light oil for everything from sewing machines to glass cutters.
Imagine my surprise when I get to the interwebs and find out that, not only does Chevron not seem to know what I'm talking about, but there are all sorts of listings for these on "vintage" and "antique" sites for sale. I didn't delve too deeply into the whole list, but the highest end price I found for this little lube pen was $37 plus shipping for a tube that was only 3/4 full. Keep in mind, fellow makers, that these were, largely, given away for free by the tool truck guys or sold for a few cents by auto parts stores.
I've noticed this trend a lot over the years. When I lived in downstate Michigan, I had a business buying and selling old video game systems (read: Atari 2600 era), repairing and refurbishing them in the process. The money wasn't fantastic, but it helped pay an extra bill or two, and it was a somewhat rewarding hobby inasmuch as it was self-supporting. Most of my trade in this business was on sites like eBay, where you usually had a good chance of snatching up parts and supplies for a nice price, while fetching an excellent resale on whole systems with games and novelty items like actual working controllers. The thing was, out of every fifteen or so legitimate auctions, you always could find twenty or more others who had a starting bid of well over $100 or more, simply because they had something that looked old and slapped a "vintage" label on it. Some fell for it, most would pass. These were the people who would get frustrated and finally give up, selling it to me or others of my kind for $5 at their garage sale, or doing so indirectly by donating to Goodwill Industries.
The same holds true for just about anything, really. If something is old enough to spark a bit of a childhood memory, while not being recent enough for the owner to know what it actually is, it usually gets put up for sale in consignment shops and antique galleries for much more than it would have been worth back when it was still useful. I still have radio tubes in my workshop; I wonder what people would think those are worth?
A large portion of my hand tools are more than a few decades old. Thanks to my grandfather, I not only own tools that are approaching the century mark, but I know how to use them. By the logic of some of these antique sites, I could probably sell my entire workshop and use the proceeds to restock it twice, with plenty of change left over. Therein lies the bigger question: Why would you want to get rid of something perfectly useful that has lasted so long? I was actually taught how to take care of my tools, but even with that in mind, could you really expect something purchased today to last for ten decades and beyond? Getting back to our original subject, when does something's value exceed its intended worth? How much value does someone else have to put on my little pen of handy oil to justify setting it on a shelf as a decoration, as opposed to utilizing it for its intended purpose? Is my sewing machine really knocking that loudly? And, what if this "antique" is keeping another one in good condition? I've used two of these pens in the last ten years just keeping an old, 70s model B&D jigsaw running. What is that item worth?
All I wanted to do tonight was cut the bottom off a wine bottle to use as a diffuser for a lighting project, not get caught up in an emotional dilemma over whether or not my little Chevron lube pen is a tool or a memento. I guess I'll keep it for a little while longer, but that sewing machine better not start a ruckus. . .
