Katy has been hard at work making soft wax, and she now has 53 more tins to ship out immediately. Tins are $12 each and are available here through her etsy.com store.
This is likely the last batch she will be able to manage before the end of the year, though she is a determined young lady. She’s pushing hard to sell wax so that she can go on a school-sponsored trip to Boston in 2018. We’ve agreed to pick up half the cost, but she is responsible for the rest of the trip’s expenses.
And (God help me) she will almost certainly become a fully licensed driver this Friday and need to purchase gasoline and “Little Tree” air fresheners for her vehicle.
Years ago I visited a well-known tool collector and was completely charmed by a series of 1910 postcards that adorned his stairwell. Each postcard featured a modestly dressed woman posing with a tool. The surface of each postcard featured some low-level pun: “Its perfectly plane that I love you.” (Yes, they made a grammatical error there.)
At the bottom of each postcard was written: Copyright 1910 by F. Bluh.
The tool collector had amassed the postcards during many years of searching (before eBay existed). I thought these postcards would make a nice shop decoration and made a note to search some out.
Then life got in the way. John and I had started Lost Art Press, then I quit my job and forgot about the postcards. Earlier this year, Suzanne Ellison stumbled on one of them, she sent it to me and it reignited my desire to collect them.
I now have 12 of them (there are more, but 12 is enough for me). I’m going to frame them this week and decided that you might like to have them for your shop as well. So I scanned each at 300 dpi, did some mild repair and sharpening, and have bundled them in the following .zip file that you can download.
These images are entirely in the public domain. Feel free to print them on photo paper and hang them in your shop or stairwell.
Of the postcards, I have two favorites. The oil can postcard and the handscrew postcard. The oil can postcard says: “If sympathy can’t soothe you, perhaps oil can. What.” What does “what” mean? “What” the heck? The handscrew postcard is just creepy. The woman has a half-lidded “Ringu” expression on her face and the text reads: “I like to be squeezed.”
I lost my shop knife while we were unpacking at Handworks this spring, and I have been on a quest since then to find its replacement. (The company that made my now-lost knife no longer exists.)
I am dang picky about knives. I’ve carried one every day since elementary school. So it is no small thing when I say this: I am glad I lost my favorite knife at Handworks because now I have a Kershaw Link drop-point knife in gray aluminum blackwash.
Here’s what I need in a knife:
One-handed operation – I need to be able to quickly close and open the knife with zero fuss.
The blade has to lock in the open position for safety.
It has to be lightweight and compact.
It has to have a belt clip.
All the components need to be incredibly rugged. I hate flimsy knives.
Oh, I also dislike flashy materials or things that look like a Klingon’s wet dream.
That is a tall order, and I rejected a lot of knives until I found the Kershaw Link. What makes the knife even more extraordinary is it is made in the U.S. and can be found for about $40 retail. (I bought mine on sale for $31.)
The blade is stainless steel, but it takes a good edge and is plenty durable when cutting wood, wire and whatever shop material is asking for a stabbing or a slashing. Totally recommended.
During the summer, tool manufacturers crank up the factories to create new products for the big selling season: September through Christmas. The manufacturers also hold media junkets to ply journalists and bloggers with free travel, meals and tools.
This blog entry is a warning from someone who covered the tool industry for 16 years and was sent (against my better judgment) on a few of these junkets when our tool reviewers couldn’t.
Here’s How it Works A tool company invites you to a city to see the new products they have planned for a fall release. They pay for your plane ticket, your hotel and usually all your meals. Usually you get a tour of the factory (the best part – I love factory tours). They show you the new tools, you get to play with them and then they send you (for free) the ones you like when they are released.
Some companies are more ethical about it – they loan you the tools and they ask you to pay your way to the press event. Others are less ethical about it – they take you on a beach vacation, pay for family to come and send you home with anything you like from their catalog. One editor brought home a cabinet saw – for himself.
Rather than shaming bloggers, YouTubers and journalists by delving into the details further (one story involves a strip club; another involves an escort service), I’d like to tell you how to protect yourself as a consumer.
Don’t Buy Newly Released Tools Just like with cars, there is a shakeout period with manufacturing tools. The first ones off the line and into the stores are more likely to have problems, such as manufacturing errors. Or they are likely to suffer a design defect that the designers couldn’t foresee (such as a switch that is prone to dust contamination).
New technology – like new software – is buggy.
I know it’s tempting to want the latest gadget, but you are better off buying the gadget that has been in the stores for a few years and has all its bugs worked out. Plus, you can ignore the social media spooge-fest that occurs when someone puts a laser on a scratch awl.
Check a Blogger’s Disclosure Believe it or not, bloggers and social media people have to disclose to you if they received an item free or were paid to promote it. The Federal Trade Commission covers this in Title 16 part 255 of the federal regulations of electronic commerce. Read the section here. A plain-spoken guide is here. Lost Art Press’s disclosure is here.
Some bloggers are really transparent and ethical. A good example of this is Paul Sellers, probably the hand tool woodworker with the most eyeballs. His disclaimer is linked to right from his home page and is completely clear. Bravo Mr. Sellers.
Other writers are ignorant or simply ignore the law. If someone doesn’t have a disclaimer or disclosure statement, I assume they are taking free stuff.
I know there are some of you who don’t believe that giving people free tools affects what a person writes. This post is not for you. For the rest of us, I advise being a little more wary of what you see on Instagram, blogs, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter during the coming months. You might just end up a part of someone’s brilliant marketing plan.
The image is from 1634 and needs a caption. ‘Nusquam tuta fides’ translates as ‘no trust is ever sure’ but don’t let that get in your way.
During the summer, tool manufacturers crank up the factories to create new products for the big selling season: September through Christmas. The manufacturers also hold media junkets to ply journalists and bloggers with free travel, meals and tools.