One of my good friends, and one of the most skilled woodworkers I have ever met, is now battling cancer (and winning). He carves spoons and pipes in his spare time. He's an old timer who does not use the internet and can produce truly beautiful work with only a few mediocre tools. I'm putting together a kit of tools to send him as a pick-me-up.
I would love to hear your recommendations for tools to include in the kit. It currently consists only of a bunch of vintage Buck chisels and gouges (from the good years) that I purchased from another member.
I'm particularly interested in a spoke shave (set?) or something similar, scrapers, and a vise suited to spoons. Vintage and new tools are both fine. If anyone has a good source for spoon/pipe/carving blanks, I would love to hear that, too.
Things I'm currently considering are LV contour planes or a Stanley #52 or Kunz spokeshave. However, I spend most of my workshop time playing with 1ton+ machines, so I defer to your judgment here.