"Keep Your Hammer Face Polished"

My Uncle Piers was a gentle man
Though he fought in World War One
He never breathed a word about it
After he and the War were done!

He should have been  a carpenter
And his water colours give me a thrill
And his words were full of wisdom
And I remember them so well still.

My Uncle always told me
When I was nothing but a kid,
“Keep your hammer face polished
It’ll save you many a quid!”

“A clean hammer face will always strike true
Never glance off the nail,
It’ll save you many handles
And many blackened fingernails!”

“Keep your chisels fiercely sharp
And all your knife blades too
A blunt blade is the dangerous one
A sharp blade will serve you true!”

“And always set your saw teeth
So carefully to left and to right
You’ll find you need to sharpen less
And the cut won’t pinch you tight!”

“And always have a pot of grease
To dip your screws, to hand
Think of the man who unscrews them
In another age or other land!”

I still have his pre-war Chisels
His planes and his saw setting tools
They are as precious to me as when I was three
When he taught me his golden rules.


My Uncle Piers was a gentle man
And my Aunty Ivy was pretty and sweet
She made the best custard I ever did taste
And was the nicest person you ever could meet!

Copyright © Res Burman 1^st November 2018

Ivy May and Piers Escritt