Category: Anarchist’s Gift Guide

I use trammel points almost every day to scribe out large arcs. One of my biggest frustrations with trammels is that many hold standard wood-body pencils only.

Because of this, my line is always thinner at the beginning of the mark and fatter at the end. The difference in line width can make a difference to the end result.

So I sought some trammels that would hold a mechanical pencil with a fine lead so that the line thickness would remain the same. I couldn’t find one that satisfied me. 

But before I started designing my own for Crucible, I decided to see if I could modify a cheap pair of trammels to do what I wanted. And that’s when I stumbled on the Micro Mark Clamp-on Trammels. 

These will not win any beauty contests. But the pencil holders can be filed to accept a mechanical pencil. The tool’s body is likely some sort of zinc alloy, so it took only a few minutes to do the job (I think the paint was harder than the metal).

With this small modification, I have the trammels of my dreams. And for less than $15.

— Christopher Schwarz

To read previous entries in the gift guide, click here.

Almost every horizontal surface in our workshop and office has a knife on it. As does every drawer and till. Shop knives are essential tools for opening boxes, cutting rope and 100 other workshop tasks. So we are always on the lookout for inexpensive, quality knives.

This year I heard about Jose Da Cruz knives that are made in Portugal and brought a few of them in for testing and use. They are available in large and small sizes. And with a variety of handle materials. And the price is right: About $20-$23. 

I won’t buy a folding knife unless the blade locks firmly. Standard non-locking pocket knives aren’t safe enough for daily and rough use. I like my fingers and still have all of them.

The Jose Da Cruz knives lock a lot like the Opinel knives – via a locking brass ferrule. The knives are made well and, for the most part, well-finished. My favorite handle material was the small “green oak” folder. The wood isn’t flashy, but it is interesting and nicely finished. Plus, it is one of the versions that has a hole for a lanyard – a useful feature.

The steel is great for a shop knife. I suspect it is plain old O1. It takes a good edge easily and stays sharp for a long time.

Good knives are good friends. And this is definitely a good one.

— Christopher Schwarz

To read previous entries in the gift guide, click here.

There are lots of ways to scribe cabinets to a wall or to scribe the legs of a chair to their final length. My favorite scribing tool – hands down – is the Tooley Park Fat Boy Scriber.

Made by Philip Sewell, a cabinetmaker in the U.K., this clever tool is well-made and extremely useful. The tool’s aluminum body surrounds a Delrin wheel. The wheel is locked using a knurled knob on the side of the tool. A second knurled knob locks a pencil in place in the wheel. The controls are easy to use and cinch down very well.

When used for scribing chair legs, you level the chair’s legs, then use the scriber to mark the lines for sawing. The tool’s flat base keeps it planted firmly on the benchtop as you mark the legs. 

There are a lot of versions of the Fat Boy on the Tooley Park website, many of them for specialty applications. I use the standard Fat Boy (without holes for a profile attachment). 

— Christopher Schwarz

To read previous entries in the gift guide, click here.

I don’t like the look or feel of plastic. So whenever I can find a tool that uses natural materials, I’ll opt for that.

I have to clean my fingernails every day to remove sharpening grit, paint, oil and other gunk. Most brushes for fingernails are plastic and ugly. So I was thrilled to find a wide selection of them at The Best Brushes (honestly, the company’s entire catalog is fantastic).

I’ve tried a few of the fingernail brushes there. I really like the “make sense” brush there. But the Gardener’s Hand & Nail Brush is half the price and works just as well. The body is oiled beech, and the tampico fibers strip the gunk quickly from my nails.

Like all natural products, you have to expect some natural processes to occur. After a few months, my brush developed a small split. It is cosmetic, and this is something that wood does – especially when subjected to repeated soakings and dryings.

So don’t expect plastic perfection. We keep the nail brush in this lovely enamel soap holder, also from The Best Brushes. 

We’re brush people now.

— Christopher Schwarz

To read previous entries in the gift guide, click here.