record no. 125 "eggbeater" hand drill

by the end of 2014 i stumbled across a record no. 125 hand drill on the internet while researching record planes... ever since then i wanted to have one of these drills. but are they ever hard to find! on a more than regular basis i searched ebay and the internet for a drill like this. nothing. never. for 8 years!

so as the years went by, my hope of finding one became smaller and smaller. until one fine day in january 2023 i was scrolling thru instagram and what did i see? a record no 125 drill, posted by elderberry fine tools.

i instantly wrote gareth, we chatted a bit, and i bought the drill😅 yesterday it arrived and it's even prettier than in the pictures! but what makes it so special? first of all, this drill has only been produced from 1935 to 1938. there was an earlier version of this drill from 1932 to 1935, with a much shorter handle, which was not really comfortable to hold. so in 1935, the revised version came out. that's the one you see in the pictures.

the handle is hollow, so you can screw off the end piece and have storage room for drills. very handy. and you can unscrew the whole handle from the body and screw it on "pistol style" in a 90 degree angle!

there is another record hand drill, the no. 124, just as rare as the no. 125. i found on on ebay, bought it, then the seller "lost" it... yeah right... so the quest begins anew...🤣

gareth, by the way, is one of the finest persons i met on instagram so far. not only does he sell awesome tools at reasonable prices, but he is also a mighty nice guy! check his ebay often!! along with the drill came a hand written letter and a "gift in need of refurbishment". a chisel without handle - so a new project for me! never have i experienced anything like this before, and i love these kinds of things! thanks gareth!!