<"everybody always="" says="" this="" reminds="" me="" of="" their="" grandfather's="" garage,="" this="" reminds="" me="" of="" when="" i="" grew="" up="" back="" east="" and="" we="" were="" digging="" for="" things.="" it's="" therapy,="" this="" is="" therapy,="" people="" love="" to="" dig="" and="" hunt="" for="" specialty="" items="" and="" at="" affordable="" prices,"="" co-owner="" steve="" rosenblatt="" said.="">
From a shovel dating back to 1900 to used power saws, the store has it all. The owners are the epitome of "old school." You won't find any computers for up-to-the-minute cataloguing or categorizing. Rosenblatt and his brother-in-law say they do all of that in their heads.
"We know where everything is, we have certain spots that they go and we know exactly where they are, just don't move it on us," Rosenblatt said.
The only "modern" piece of technology the store features for business transactions is a fax machine. It all feeds into the store's atmosphere of "what you see is what you get."
Most of the tools are half the price of brand new store-bought tools. Rosenblatt buys the used tools from pretty much anyone selling. He says the tools are regularly cross-checked with the Denver Police Department to see if they've been stolen.
"All of this stuff works. We fix the blades if they need fixing, we clean the tools if they need cleaning," Rosenblatt said.
Rosenblatt estimates sales have been up 10 percent during this economic downturn. He sees grease monkeys from the neighborhood, avid bicyclists who are doing their own repairs and everyday people looking to get tools for gardening. In a broken economy this business needs no fixing.
Charlie's 2nd Hand Tools is located at 2227 Larimer Street. The family-owned-and-operated store has been in Denver since 1946./>