Spirit level collector turns hobby into business

A man who has been collecting traditional tools and spirit levels for 30 years has turned his hobby into a full-time career.

David Nicholas, who owns Fenland Tools near Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, sells a variety of hand tools and spirit levels he has spent years collecting from car boot sales, antique shops and fairs.

He boasts more than 1,000 spirit levels in his collection, some dating back to the 1900s, and has collected so many tools he "would not be able to put a number on it".

"Turning your hobby into your job is what everyone wants. It's not like work," he said.

Mr Nicholas said he first found a spirit level when visiting a car boot sale about 30 years ago, which sparked his interest in searching for them at other second-hand events.

He said: "I amassed too many [spirit levels] and started buying other hand tools. Then you get too many, so you have to start selling them."

Mr Nicholas, who was previously a bricklayer, sells the tools online and at antique shops, fairs and markets - including in Ely in Cambridgeshire and Stamford in Lincolnshire.

"Turning your hobby into your job is what everyone wants. It's not like work. I come out of my house in the morning, walk to my shed 20 yards away, and I'm sitting there starting to clear the tools I bought in previous months or weeks," he said.

Among the spirit levels in his collection, some dating back to the 1900s, is an Alexander Mathieson & Sons level.

He says it is a "holy grail" item he spent years trying to find.

"It's a special one for me. It will be staying with me for many, many years with a pride of place in my collection."

While some of the hand tools are low in value, he believes people buy them from him for nostalgic reasons or due to a growing interest in traditional trades, which have been popularised in TV programmes.

"Most of the stuff I sell is probably to use... you get a lot of people who are buying off us and remember their grandad had a big shed or workshop and they want to recreate that."

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.