sawnuts
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Registered: 06/27/08
Posts: 70
Loc: Allendale, MI
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I am wondering how we started using the word tote to describe the handle of a tool.
I can tote my tool or put it in a tote but that is it.
I have never been comfortable with this use and have yet to find an old reference or a good definition that states tote can be used interchangeably with the word handle.
Tote has been used to describe plane handles (at least the rear most one) for sometime. Maybe that was to distinguish it from the knob, which I understand.
Lately I have heard the term tote used to describe a saw handle. Handle works for me. No confusion there.
Maybe I am just becoming an old geezer that likes things to stay the same but I think that if a word is used it should be the correct one and not create confusion.
I am in no way “stirring the pot” or wishing to offend. I am just asking for some clarification.
Thanks for listening,
Mark
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MarvW
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Registered: 08/27/07
Posts: 2507
Loc: Northern California
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Mark,
I'm with you on this subject. 
Saw blade to me is in the same category. I eat out of a plate. My saws have a blade.
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Catchalater,
Marv
I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
― Maya Angelou
I'm working toward my PHD. (Projects Half Done)
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TobyC
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Loc: Cat-Pig Swamp
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Sounds familiar.
Toby
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Toby
"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."
Mark Twain
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TobyC
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Registered: 11/01/11
Posts: 2423
Loc: Cat-Pig Swamp
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I never use the word "tote" for anything, and a saw plate is what you use to make a saw blade.
Toby
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Toby
"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."
Mark Twain
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thomasegan
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Registered: 03/26/08
Posts: 105
Loc: Midwest/ Illinois
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If the ladyfriend starts referring to my love totes, then it has gone too far.
 
te
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TobyC
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Registered: 11/01/11
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Loc: Cat-Pig Swamp
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Let's not forget about label screws, now they're called "medallions". Probably coined by some ebay seller who thought it sounded cool.
Toby
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Toby
"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."
Mark Twain
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jstraw
Documented IBTP.
Registered: 08/28/02
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Loc: Northern Neck, Va
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thomasegan said:
If the ladyfriend starts referring to my love totes, then it has gone too far.
te
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John
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JR1
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Registered: 09/09/10
Posts: 6644
Loc: Teller country, Co, USA
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I doubt that tote comes from the handle used to tote the plane. That usage of tote is a relatively modern American one. I was going to check the OED online but my subscription has run out and its now up to ~$70. I'll see what I can dig up tomorrow. Just one of the specialty trade terms. Like film/video gaffer¹ or Best Boy².
¹ Gaffer is the head of the lighting crew .
² Best Boy is the head electrician and today is usually a woman.
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homo homini lupus
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wmickley
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Registered: 03/05/08
Posts: 986
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Here is the reference from Moxon (1677). According to Merriam Webster 1677 is the earliest known use. There are also other words that first appeared in print in Moxon's work.
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Marc WP
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Registered: 09/05/09
Posts: 550
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tote: the rear closed handle of an infill plane
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Woodworkers Post
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Window Guy
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Registered: 06/03/01
Posts: 10437
Loc: St. Cloud,Fl., USA
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Interesting question, I have used it only because this is what I have heard people reference the word to and what I have read in books etc. when I first started learning about planes and saws. Is this correct ??? I dunno !
Would like to know though.
Steve
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Rodneywt1180b
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Registered: 07/09/11
Posts: 403
Loc: Centralia, WA
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I use the term because it seems that everyone else on these forums do. I thought it was the correct usage. It'll be interesting to see how it really works out.
Rodney
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Curmudgeon in training
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TobyC
Mossback
Registered: 11/01/11
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Loc: Cat-Pig Swamp
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Go here, and look on page 162, and you will see that Disston sold replacement "handles" for their saws. All through this, and other Disston catalogs, handles were called handles, and blades were called blades. They didn't have any "totes" on "plates" for sale.
Toby
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Toby
"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."
Mark Twain
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Marc WP
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Registered: 09/05/09
Posts: 550
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old stanley catalogs called them handles also
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Woodworkers Post
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Chuck in NC
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Registered: 04/07/06
Posts: 726
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I carry my plane = I tote my plane
When I tote my plane what do I carry it by? The rear handle, of course!
therefore rear handle = tote.
(transitive property of hand planes)
(can't speak to other hand tools though)
Chuck
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JR1
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Registered: 09/09/10
Posts: 6644
Loc: Teller country, Co, USA
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Except that that usage of "tote" is American from about the early 1700s, the use of tote for the rear handle of a plane dates from the early 1600s in England.
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homo homini lupus
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NiteWalker
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Registered: 03/12/06
Posts: 5945
Loc: Albany, NY
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Window Guy said:
Interesting question, I have used it only because this is what I have heard people reference the word to and what I have read in books etc. when I first started learning about planes and saws. Is this correct ??? I dunno !
Would like to know though.
Steve
^What he said.
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"I buy tools so i can make more money, so I can buy more tools so I can work more, to make more money, so I can buy more tools, so I can work more..."
"Happiness is seeing that big brown truck pull up in front of the house".
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Arlin Eastman
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Registered: 03/11/09
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Loc: Iowa, Mills County
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In the older Stanley books they were called Handles, I do not know when they changed
Arlin
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It is always the right time, to do the right thing.
In life; humor in very necessary.
http://www.lovinghandsmemoryboxs.com
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Bibliophile 13
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Registered: 09/08/06
Posts: 7127
Loc: South Alabama
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wmickley said:
Here is the reference from Moxon (1677). According to Merriam Webster 1677 is the earliest known use. There are also other words that first appeared in print in Moxon's work.
^^^ This.
Many of the words we use to describe familiar tool parts are British in origin, often going back to the 17th or 18th century. Back then, you held a plane by the tote and it cut with an iron.
Archaic vocabulary dies hard in the trades.
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Steve S.
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Tradition cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour.
- T. S. Eliot
Tutorials and Build-Alongs at The Literary Workshop
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Admiral
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Registered: 06/26/07
Posts: 6737
Loc: NJ
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For me, a tote is on a plane, a saw has a handle. Knives have blades, planes have irons. Call me old fashioned, I guess.
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Elvem ipsum etiam vivere
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illinimike
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Registered: 06/26/06
Posts: 1133
Loc: Northern Illinois
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I have a feeling that I might be one of your references. I changed to the word tote simply because someone here at Woodnet once "corrected" my usage of the word handle. OK, not actually corrected, but re-referenced to my picture and changed the descriptive wording to tote.
It seemed at the time that was the more accurate term, but I can use either.
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Too Many Projects; Not enough Time
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TobyC
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Registered: 11/01/11
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Loc: Cat-Pig Swamp
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Almost every tool I own comes from the 1850 - 1950 time period. According to the original catalogs and ads, and histories that I've read, these tools had "handles". The company that made them called them handles in their literature. If they made them as handles, and sold them as handles, then for me that's what they are. Were there other time periods and/or other countries that used different nomenclature, absolutely yes. But that doesn't apply to tools that were originally manufactured as having "handles". Look at it this way, that four wheeled thing in your driveway was sold as a "car", do you refer to it as a "horseless carriage"? Or speaking of US versus English, do you refer to your car's hood as a "bonnet"?
Toby
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Toby
"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."
Mark Twain
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Timberwolf
Honored Veteran and lant something or other
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Posts: 60668
Loc: Sparkling Clearwater, Florida
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I think it's picking specks out of black pepper Much ado about nothing, as long as we can use the words interchangeably and still be understood...Of course, some may think the use of the word "tote" may make a person sound more "knowledgeable", but not to me...Communication is what were are aiming for...Keep it simple...
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"Remember, we are First Marines, and all the communist SOBs in the world cannot stop us from going where we intend to go".."Chesty" Puller Lt.Col. USMC..Chosin Reservoir, Korea 1950
Jack Edgar USMC.. Korea '51/'52
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ZachDillinger
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Registered: 08/20/08
Posts: 1000
Loc: Charlotte, MI
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Admiral said:
For me, a tote is on a plane, a saw has a handle. Knives have blades, planes have irons. Call me old fashioned, I guess.
Call me old-fashioned as well...
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Zachary J. Dillinger
PM me for details on the MWTCA meet coming up on April 13th.
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MarvW
Member
Registered: 08/27/07
Posts: 2507
Loc: Northern California
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Hi Toby,
I concur.... when a tool has a thing on it that we grasp with our hand in order to use it, that thing is a handle. If the tool has something that is only used when carrying it, then that thing can be referred to as a tote. But because it is also grasped with the hand, it can also be called a handle.
I have a small portable air compressor that has a thing attached to the top for the purpose of carrying it from place to place. I think of it as a handle. When I carry the compressor from one location to another, I use the handle to tote the machine. The word tote in this case is a verb.
We have hammers with a handle, chisel handle, shovel handle. A hand grinder has a crank handle. A breast drill can have three handles. None of these tools are referred to as having a tote. So why would a handle on a plane or saw be called a tote?
My wheelbarrow has two handles that are grasped when using it. I suppose the wheelbarrow could be referred to as a tote. In this case the word tote is a noun.
Moxon is often referred to as the last word on hand tools and how they were used. He was not an accomplished woodworker, he only wrote about woodworking and related tools. The language of his day, whether correct or not was used by him because he learned descriptions and nomenclature from those he wrote about. When he referred to the handle on a plane as a tote, it was only because the people he wrote about used the word in that way. In my opinion, the word tote has been misused for a very long time. And it will continue to be used incorrectly as are many other words in our language.
This thread feels so familiar, very much like endless discussions about the nib on a handsaw.
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Catchalater,
Marv
I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
― Maya Angelou
I'm working toward my PHD. (Projects Half Done)
Edited by MarvW (08/31/12 10:22 AM)
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Gregory of Sherwood Forest
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This is getting a bit comical, so I'll add my 2 pence.
In my usage, a plane has 2 handles on it, if we wish to be more specific and perhaps more traditional, then one may also be referenced as the knob and the other would be the tote.
Personally, I like the differentiation.
As Marv stated, though, as long as communication is understood, the semantics aren't so important as to be argued over. Getting the meaning across to each other is the final intent, right?
.
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" The founding fathers weren't trying to protect citizens' rights to have an interesting hobby." I Learn Each Day 1/18/13
www.RUSTHUNTER.com
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Bibliophile 13
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Registered: 09/08/06
Posts: 7127
Loc: South Alabama
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TobyC said:
Almost every tool I own comes from the 1850 - 1950 time period. According to the original catalogs and ads, and histories that I've read, these tools had "handles". The company that made them called them handles in their literature. If they made them as handles, and sold them as handles, then for me that's what they are. Were there other time periods and/or other countries that used different nomenclature, absolutely yes. But that doesn't apply to tools that were originally manufactured as having "handles". Look at it this way, that four wheeled thing in your driveway was sold as a "car", do you refer to it as a "horseless carriage"? Or speaking of US versus English, do you refer to your car's hood as a "bonnet"?
Toby
Yep. It's a British/American thing. In the USA, it's normally been called a "handle." English works, including Moxon, Holme, and Nicholson all call it a "tote." I think they use it only for a plane, though, not for saws.
In case anybody cares, the word "tote" used in this sense comes from an older English word "toot," a verb that means "to protrude" or "to stick out." On a wooden plane, that's exactly what the "tote" does--it protrudes from the body. So when speaking of wooden planes, the term is pretty descriptive. Referring to metal planes, well, it's a little less so.
I'll continue to call it a tote. (A proofreader once remarked that I tend to use a lot of British-isms in my writing.) And this word-origin stuff is fascinating to me. 
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Steve S.
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Tradition cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour.
- T. S. Eliot
Tutorials and Build-Alongs at The Literary Workshop
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TobyC
Mossback
Registered: 11/01/11
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Loc: Cat-Pig Swamp
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MarvW said:
This thread feels so familiar, very much like endless discussions about the nib on a handsaw.
Be careful Marv, you may start something!
Toby
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Toby
"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."
Mark Twain
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nicobie
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Registered: 12/31/04
Posts: 236
Loc: Santa Barbara County, CA
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The only reason I always call them totes, is because they sell better on ebay that way.
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May your tote always stay tight and your edge eversharp 
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jamesicus
Honored Veteran
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Loc: Tucson, Arizona
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What’s in a name? that which we call a handle
By any other name would work as well
(with apologies to Will)
James
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Timberwolf
Honored Veteran and lant something or other
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--------------------
"Remember, we are First Marines, and all the communist SOBs in the world cannot stop us from going where we intend to go".."Chesty" Puller Lt.Col. USMC..Chosin Reservoir, Korea 1950
Jack Edgar USMC.. Korea '51/'52
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TobyC
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Posts: 2423
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Hey, what happened to Mark (sawnuts) ?!!
He lit this fire and ran for the hills! 
Toby
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Toby
"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."
Mark Twain
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Tony Z
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Registered: 03/26/06
Posts: 3932
Loc: DuBois, PA
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thomasegan said:
If the ladyfriend starts referring to my love totes, then it has gone too far.
te
I only have a single tote and I've been led around by it for better than 33 years now.
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Waiting to grow up beyond being just a member
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JR1
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Loc: Teller country, Co, USA
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Thanks I was by the library to use their OED today and they are closed for the holiday.
That sounds right if I remember Tuesday I'll still check. MY old Stanley catalog uses handle.
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homo homini lupus
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Daryl Weir
Professor Sawboy
Registered: 01/01/06
Posts: 1145
Loc: Knoxville, IL
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TobyC said:
Hey, what happened to Mark (sawnuts) ?!!
He lit this fire and ran for the hills!
Toby
I think it's called........
and boy did it work!
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Take care,
Daryl
Old Saws Restored
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dry heat
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Registered: 12/27/03
Posts: 91
Loc: Arizona Desert
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Probably follows a bit like this poem.
Fire-engines have four men and eight wheels. Eight and four make twelve. Twelve inches in a ruler. Queen Elizabeth was a ruler. She sailed the high seas. Seas have fish. Fish have fins. Finns fought the Russians. The Russians are red. Fire-engines are always rushing. Therefore fire-engines are red.
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JR1
Member
Registered: 09/09/10
Posts: 6644
Loc: Teller country, Co, USA
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Thanks Im a FF that's really good!
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homo homini lupus
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sawnuts
Member
Registered: 06/27/08
Posts: 70
Loc: Allendale, MI
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Toby,
I have just returned from the hills so that I could receive knowledge in such matters. Kidding!
It sounds like I have a few people that agree with me.
I understand that language needs to evolve. New inventions need new words. A lot of the words that we use today would be very confusing to someone that lived as recently as 100 years ago I am sure.
There may be another few things in play here. Using esoteric or confusing terms can exclude newcomers if they need to learn a new language. There are enough new words to learn in the area of old tools and fine wood working as it is.
I think we are in a little renaissance of craftsmanship. Great tools are available again. We are re-discovering and refining old methods of work with the help of the WWW.
Lets not make this more difficult than what it is. Lets spend our time learning basic skills as opposed to trying to learn a language that seems a little fluid at times (handle vs tote).
Great discussion guys.
Thanks for you insight.
Mark
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Window Guy
Honored Veteran
Registered: 06/03/01
Posts: 10437
Loc: St. Cloud,Fl., USA
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ZachDillinger said:
Admiral said:
For me, a tote is on a plane, a saw has a handle. Knives have blades, planes have irons. Call me old fashioned, I guess.
Call me old-fashioned as well...
+ 2 ........ I am in that category as well, but like Timberwolf mentioned communication is the Key and keep it simple .
Steve
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Bibliophile 13
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Registered: 09/08/06
Posts: 7127
Loc: South Alabama
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JR1 said:
Thanks I was by the library to use their OED today and they are closed for the holiday.
That sounds right if I remember Tuesday I'll still check. MY old Stanley catalog uses handle.
Yes, my info was from the OED (Oxford English Dictionary).  me one for not citing my source!
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Steve S.
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Tradition cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour.
- T. S. Eliot
Tutorials and Build-Alongs at The Literary Workshop
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