Category: Anarchist’s Gift Guide

I started this “gift guide” years ago after watching a woodworking TV personality’s “gift guide” for one of his sponsors. Clearly, he’d been given a list of worthless garbage products that were severely overstocked. 

I thought: What if some poor spouse actually took this clown’s advice?

Our gift guide is – as always – unsponsored. Toolmakers who ask to be included in the guide (and they sometimes do) are automatically excluded from it. We don’t make money from these recommendations – there are no affiliate links. We bought all of these items with our own lunch money and have been using them in the shop this year.

Finally, we try to recommend small items – things that your kids can afford to give you. And I usually throw in one high-price item, in case you’ve been extra good this year.

I’ve been doing this guide for many years. You can read past recommendations here. There also are several earlier years of the gift guide on the Popular Woodworking site. But good luck finding those. You’ll need a crowbar.

I hope I have listed enough caveats to tamp down the usual questions. Let’s get started.

AccuSharp Knife Sharpener

Might as well start with one that will make the sharpening experts howl. For many years I have sharpened all my shop knives and kitchen knives with this humble and inexpensive sharpener from AccuSharp.

You can find these for $10, and even the low-rent model will last a decade. And you can buy replacement abrasive guts when they wear out. The “professional” one shown here costs $5 more and has more metal components. But the result is the same.

The things are dead-nuts easy to use. Hold the knife flat on a table with its edge facing up. Pull the sharpener over the blade (the plastic scabbard protects you). It will refresh an edge in three or four strokes.

What I adore about this sharpener is that it will bring a dead knife back to life. Just stroke the blade some more until you get a good edge.

Some of you might be wondering why I prefer this gizmo to a knife steel or stones. The answer is simple: speed. When I’m cooking I don’t have time to stone my knives. I need to get that tomato dissected ASAP. And the edge from the AccuSharp is better than serviceable.

Same goes with my shop knives. When I’m opening boxes or whatnot, I don’t have the time to pause and stone my pocket knife. So I grab the AccuSharp and am back to work in seconds.

And because it’s easy, all my knives stay sharp.

I use this sharpener on all my knives, except for my laminated Japanese ones. Those have to be stoned. 

I know there are people who find Zen in sharpening their knives, perhaps by the campfire. I am not that guy. 

Available everywhere.

— Christopher Schwarz

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

I hesitate to talk much about tools from other makers (Anarchist’s Gift Guide excepted). It doesn’t seem fair because of my work with Crucible. But occasionally I break my rule when I find something interesting or well done.

As always, my opinions are unsolicited. I pay full price for my tools. I have no relationship with either of these manufacturers.

Accu-Burr Burnisher

The Accu-Burr is one of those tools that makes you wonder why it has never been made before. It’s a carbide burnisher that turns two hooks on a card scraper in one motion.

The burnisher has three grooves for three different hooks – 5°, 10° and 15°. After stoning the edge (and face if you like) you place one of the three burnisher’s grooves on the edge of the card scraper. Plus a drop of oil to make life easier. Then you run the Accu-Burr over the edge with moderate downward pressure.

And then you are done – both corners of the card scraper are deformed with a nice hook. 

It worked for me the very first time (I’ve been sharpening card scrapers almost daily for 26 years). But there are detailed instructions and a video to guide you.

The burnisher works on both straight and curved scrapers with ease. You can buy an Accu-Burr (patent pending)  from Heartwood Tools. It’s quite clever and well-made in the USA.

Benchmark 6” Rule in Black

Months ago I discussed our efforts to make a black satin rule that had only 8ths and 16ths (no 32nds or 64ths). Well Benchmark beat us to it. 

The company offers a 6” and 12” in black with white markings, which are nice for old eyes. And the price is excellent: $5.99 for the 6” rule and $7.99 for the 12”. Based on a close inspection, I suspect these rules are made in the same factory (or use the same manufacturing process) as the SPI black rules that I recommended last year. The Benchmark has the same bloom pattern on the rule’s finish.

I’ve been using the Benchmark 6” rule for a few weeks and like it. I wish it were made in the USA, but if it were, it sure wouldn’t be this price.

— Christopher Schwarz

Anyone who’s taken a class with me in the last five years knows how I feel about .5mm mechanical pencils. When students’ dovetails are too loose or too tight, my first question is, “What pencil did you use to darken your knifeline?” If a dado is too loose (or too tight), my first question is, “What pencil did you use to mark the cutline?”

I find a .5mm mechanical pencil has the ideal lead diameter. The line it marks on a flat surface is exactly thin enough that you don’t have to decide where across its width to cut; you just cut the line. And if you drop a .5mm lead line into a knifed line, the lead catches on both sides of the line, leaving an unmarked trench between (which is where I instruct students to saw when cutting their pins).

I don’t really have a favorite .5mm pencil in terms of the results, but because I tend to lose them a lot (especially while teaching, because I loan them out constantly), I buy inexpensive ones – whatever is available for less than $20 in a multi-pack at any office supply store, large grocery or drugstore.

And if you ever take a class with me, you’ll see a .5mm on the tool list. I mean it (few students seem to believe me!).

— Fitz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.

I can’t remember a recent project where I didn’t pick up a bird-cage awl. From marking the location of spindles or screws to actually drilling holes for tiny screws, a bird-cage awl is essential for installing hardware, deepening marks left by your dividers and even cleaning out junk from the corners of deep mortises.

I’ve used a lot of bird-cage awls, and this year I finally found the one I like the most: The 803 from Matthias Fenner Toolworks. This awl is – best of all – easy to use, skillfully made and sharp. But it is also gorgeous.

The business end of the tool is a round O1 shaft that’s 8mm in diameter. And it ends in a 7/8”-long tapered tip. It’s a great shape for drilling holes (just rotate the handle as you press the tool into the wood). The solid ferrule strengthens the tool and fits seamlessly onto the shaft. The walnut handle meets the ferrule smoothly, continuing the inside cove shape on the handle.

The handle itself is quite ergonomic. The crisp point on the lower end of the handle allows you to exert downward pressure as you drill. And it fits neatly right outside your thumb and index finger when you grip it.

Matthias makes these tools to order, and it can take a little time for him to make them and for them to arrive from Germany. But they are worth the wait. If your awl can’t make it here for Christmas, perhaps it can be a Groundhog Day gift instead.

The awls are 49.90 € (about $58 U.S. today). They are well worth the price.

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.

I know I’m going to get some flack for this entry, but I’m already over it. Yes, I am about to recommend a surge protector that costs $200. No, I’m not crazy. And yes, I like the pretty colors that they come in.

We don’t have a lot of electrical outlets in our workshop. When we tore out the old bar equipment, we removed miles – literally miles – of electric cabling. And speaker cables. Coaxial. Wire for security cameras. Stuff I couldn’t identify.

I probably went overboard in removing outlets from the building. Megan and I each have an outlet in the floor by our workbenches. It is what powers our task lights, charges our phones and spins the occasional drill. It’s enough, except when we have six additional students and another instructor working in the room.

So last year I decided to upgrade the cheap plastic surge protectors we use to help divide the electricity equitably. I did some research, and I ended up with a few of these Conway Electric surge protectors. Though they’re made in California, they’re built like Soviet tanks. The bodies are stout steel plate. The switches make a hugely satisfying “click.” And the cord is cloth wrapped and nicely flexible.

If I built surge protectors, this is exactly how I would build them.

My only complaint about the product is the ordering is a bit weird. You get a confirmation of your order, but it can take weeks before you hear anything more about your shipment. It always comes (I’ve ordered three times). You just have to be patient.

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.