Old sweep's log book brought up things I'd forgotten

I was cleaning out a job site last Tuesday and found a notebook tucked behind a false panel in the flue chase. Turns out a guy named Ed who swept chimneys here in the 70s kept a record of every house he did, including rough sketches of the liners and notes like 'cracked crown, use care' or 'damper stuck, don't force.' Reading through it made me realize how much we lean on cameras and rotary tools now, but Ed did it all by feel and a hand brush. I spent a good hour just flipping pages, seeing how he handled a tough spot on a house I did last month, and his approach was slower but maybe smarter. It got me wondering, how many of us still keep any kind of paper trail or is it all phone photos that get lost when you upgrade? Has anyone else found old sweep gear or notes on a job and learned something from it?

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baker.phoenix15d ago

Do you really think a paper log would've survived all those years better than a phone photo? I get the nostalgia, but my phone's got five years of job history backed up automatically, and I can zoom into a liner crack without squinting at some faded pencil sketch.