It manufactures a range of high quality hand tools, primarily for woodworking, based on traditional designs.
In the late 1970s, Thomas Lie-Nielsen (pronounced "Lee-Neelsen"[2]) worked for Garry Chinn's company, Garrett Wade.
In 1981, Garrett Wade's supplier of an adapted Stanley #95 edge trimming block plane, Ken Wisner, was ready to leave the business, so Lie-Nielsen acquired the tooling, plans and components necessary for producing the #95.
[3] Lie-Nielsen moved from New York to a farm in West Rockport, Maine, and began production of the plane in a tiny back-yard shed.
[3] The acquisition of the Independence Tool Co. in 1998 added hand saws to the product line, which has further expanded over the years to include over 50 different models of planes, in addition to spokeshaves, socket chisels, screwdrivers, marking and measuring devices and workbench hardware.