What's your favorite hand tool?

[Edward Mitton]

Oddly, my favorite hand tool in my collection is one that I haven't used yet....It is an old Pexto 3/4" socket chisel that belonged to my grandfather. It is in really bad shape because I believe he used it more for a cold chisel application rather than a woodworking tool. (He was, after all, an aircraft mechanic during WWI and an automobile repairman in the '30s and '40s). Anyway, this old thing is badly nicked, there is no wood handle, and the socket is adequately mushroomed. I intend to do a nice restoration on it, already have a small mountain ash log picked out for turning a new handle. I anticipate this as being my most used chisel once it is put into proper working condition.

[Chuck Nickerson]

That would have to be my Barr Cabinetmaker's Chisels without the side bevels.
They are brutes that hold an edge like nobody's business.

[Mike Holbrook]

I could not select just one specialized woodworking tool so I will have to agree with George... MicroTech WhaleShark, flip open folding knife. Unless I have to go to the airport it is on me and constantly in use.

[Michael Ray Smith]

Millers Falls #1 spoke shave. Today anyway. Sometimes my LV low angle block plane. Sometimes my Stanley No. 2 bench plane.

[Jonas Andersson]

Gotta say the hammer. It is the problem solver.

[Edward Miller]

I'm going to cheat and pick two.

1) A Stanley #5 jack plane. Absolutely nothing special about it, except that it belonged to my grandfather, and getting it made rough planing jobs go from being an incredible chore that took forever to something a bit more reasonable.

2) My 28" rip saw. It's kinda beat-up, is missing one of the screws that attaches the handle, has no visible etch, and doesn't have that many sharpenings left in it, but it just flies through wood. I found it hanging in the garage at an estate sale without a price on it; they gave it to me for $2, and it took no time to become my favorite saw.

[Kim Malmberg]

I agree with George. If this list woyld be about which tool you'd keep if you had to give away every single other tool except one, I'd say I would keep the puukko knife.
A saw would be very close, as would an axe. But a good knife can do more than most other tools can. It's a Swiss army knife without all the extra tools.

[Brian Thornock]

If I had to pick just one, it is probably the infill shoulder plane that I built. Not necessarily because of how much I use it, but because it is beautiful and I made it myself. I tend to love using my shop made tools. As for tools not made by me, my lv la block gets tons of use.

[Ruperto Mendiones]

My Lee Valley shooting plane. I've never had a cutting tool work so well right out of the box.

[Winton Applegate]

MicroTech WhaleShark

I have only recently payed any attention to that type of knife.
You know . . .
for hand to hand combat on the bike path. Ha, Ha,
(is that still hand to hand ? Guess not . . . anyway )


I bought this guy and find it a great design. No it does not feel like I would have the least possibility of my finger going past the blade hook and onto the edge.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Lee Valley shooting plane.

I tend to be one to just plane the end with a little block even though I have the LN Miter plane (that I like)
. . . but say . . . the Lee Valley is an appealing plane.
I need to start paying attention to catalogs again.
That one could make me do something unforgivable with my Visa card !

I must say to see the things that have been mentioned here I been working harder than I like. Searching on google etc. I am feeling exhausted. I can't go another step.
I have moved from the main couch to my fainting couch.
Swooning as I desperately try to stay conscious long enough to type this.
How bout more links and photos ?

For those not so keen on posting photos I have worked up an instruction sheet for Photobucket along with another member here who asked me to help.
There is probably an instruction page here on SawMill but he wasn't able to come up with it easily.

Anyway here is our effort in that department.
Some pretty big in line pictures. Ha, ha, yah often when I want them to be smaller.
Many I am pulling from a file I have that I have used in other forums. There they come out not too big. In SawMill Creek they show up way larger and I have to remember to make them smaller but I don't always.

Annnnny way here is the deal :

For SawMill I have to store my photos on Photobucket.
Before I put a photo there that I intend to post on SawMill I first drag the photo from my photo program iPhoto onto my desk top.
on my computer (I have a Mac)
I double click the icon of the photo and it opens and starts a program called Preview.


Then I go to the pull down called Tools and in Tools is "Adjust Size".
From the list of sizes I select the smallest one; 320 X 240 or there abouts. That is plenty big for most posts.
The next size up 640 x 480 and that shows up on SawMill pretty big. You get the idea.
I hit save and close the photo and it goes back to the desk top as an icon.


I go to my Photobucket site on line.
Click on Up Load.
Drag the photo (you can drag several at once) onto the area labeled to receive them.
Wait for them to transfer, indicated by the blue bar at the bottom.
Then a commercial starts but if you look for the Library pull down at the top and select Recent Uploads it will stop the commercial and take you to the photo(s) you just uploaded.


From there click on the photo you want to use on SawMill.
To the right of the screen there will be a list of ways to make the photo available = "Links To Share This Photo".
I click in the little window next to "IMG".
It will flash yellow very briefly and you will know you have copied what you need to transfer the photo.


Then go back to SawMill.
Type your text.
Where ever you want that photo click there and then paste.
The photo will show up there when you preview your post or you click on "Quick Reply" or something like that.
Some of the guys have photos that when you click on them in SawMill they expand and leave the text behind.
I assume that is one of the other Links To Share This Photo available in Photobucket or where ever they are storing their photos on an online server. Or maybe they are paying the host for SawMill as a Member Fee.
I don't know about that.


Let me know how that works.
If you have a PC/Windows/Microsoft maybe we can get a person from SawMill to help with that.


Cheers,
Winton

[Winton Applegate]

While I am on about knives, does anyone have a sunfish / elephant toenail they want to get rid of ?

I don't have one but have the bug to get one.
I am kind of picky so here is my preferences :
I don't want a cheepy modern chinese knock off.
I want:
Dark handle
Blade that rusts
Engraved blade

[Andy Pratt]

I love to look at all my LN/lv planes/spokeshaves/saws on the shelf the most but the thing I honestly get the most use out of is a simple marking knife I made for myself. It is made from a tiny hand file blade that I re-purposed. I wet-ground a double edged blade on it and epoxied it into a nicely shaped walnut handle. It isn't fancy but it fits my hand perfectly and looks ok, it fits all the way into deep recesses (since it has a thin, 2" long blade sticking out) and marks great in either direction. I even bothered to heat treat the blade end with a torch so that it would stay sharp, and it actually worked quite well.

Favorite hand tool to use though has to be a spokeshave on easy wood (seems like it never happens though) making nice gentle curves in something like an axe handle. You know, the kind of work no one would ever pay you to do but you get to do for yourself during down time.

[Jim Koepke]

Favorite hand tool to use though has to be a spokeshave on easy wood (seems like it never happens though) making nice gentle curves in something like an axe handle. You know, the kind of work no one would ever pay you to do but you get to do for yourself during down time.

This is a joy of mine with many tools. It is really nice to have a comfortable handle whether it be axe, hatchet, saw or plane.

jtk