Dated measures cut by dated cutting tools (9)
I believe the answer is:
chainsaws
'dated cutting tools' is the definition.
'chainsaws' can be an answer for 'tools' (I've seen this before). I'm not sure about the 'dated cutting' bit.
'dated measures cut by' is the wordplay.
'dated' becomes 'saw' (see can mean to date romantically).
'measures' becomes 'chains' (chain is a kind of measure).
'cut by' means one lot of letters goes inside another (some letters cut into others).
'saw' inserted within 'chains' is 'CHAINSAWS'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for chainsaws that I've seen is " Power-driven cutting tools".)