Beginning tool collectors should also stay away from tools that have not changed over the years. The design of this spoke shave, for example, has gone unchanged for nearly 150 years, making it difficult to tell when it was made and therefore less valuable. Tool collectors, notes Flanigan, often specialize. A collector might gravitate towards the tools of a cooper, who made barrels, or those of a wheelwright, who made wheels. I expect that in the 21st century, we'll have people collecting car mechanics' tools.
Some collectors also gravitate toward the aesthetics of tools.
Many earlier tools, especially those made in Britain, Germany, Italy or France can have very decorative features.