It's What's Between You and the Wood - Quality from Your Hand to Heirloom |
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Greetings!
This short video, Papaw’s Workshop (below) by woodworker Richard McCormick’s daughter, photographer D’Ann Boal is exceptionally sweet. It embodies all we mean when we say, “Quality from Your Hand to Heirloom,” and more. A brief 1 minute and 23 seconds remind us to think about how we want to be remembered. Richard McCormick will be remembered by his children and their children for sharing his workshop and woodworking with his family and doing so in a way they cherish.
Once we knew of this video, we had to share it with you. Also, please look at the paring knife kit Tom Buhl recently built. He shares his paring knife project and is open about how some things just do not go as envisioned. What did James Krenov say, “...it’s how you recover from your mistakes”?
I am thankful, as well as educated by the photographs customers send of the tools and projects they create with Hock Tools. Randy Boden’s approach to his marking knife is different for me. As you probably know, I am much more a metal man than a woodworker. Randy’s marking knife hit that metal spot in me, as the handle he made is a magnet! As with Richard and Tom, Randy shares openly. Each of these woodworkers’ sharing is indeed a gift.
Of course, if there is anything you need from Hock Tools, please let me know.
Happy Holidays to you and to yours,
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Ron Hock
Hock Tools
(888) 282-5233
(707) 964-2782
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by D'Ann Boal
A Tiny Tour of My Dad's Shop
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The scent of fresh-cut wood always takes me back to those times I spent as a young boy in my grandfather’s workshop. The tools, the smells, and the process of taking a wooden board and making something from it were intoxicating back then and still are.
My grandchildren recently visited, and while they hung out with me in my shop, my daughter D'Ann, who is a professional photographer, took some pictures. A few weeks after they returned home, I received Papaw's Workshop, a short, online video. D'Ann commented on how she was always drawn to the magical times she spent as a child with me in my shop and wanted to capture a moment of that same magic with me and her children. I was very touched.
It reminded me that certain brief moments in a child’s life can live with them forever. As woodworkers, let's be reminded that those around us may experience sounds and scents and meaningful moments that may be remembered long after we are gone.
Perhaps our work has yet more meaning, beyond the items we labor to craft.
- Richard McCormick
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Richard McCormick has made and uses many wooden hand planes, most of which hold Hock blades. He also works with a rather comprehensive selection of bench planes, explaining " I have a collection of almost all the old Stanley bench planes, #s 3 thru 8, dating from the late 1800s through 1920s, back in Stanley's heyday of plane making. I restored most of them and replaced the original Stanley blades with Hock blades. By the way, they work perfectly, producing shavings of near 1/1000" thick." |
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"I’ve had the full set of Hock Tools Kitchen knives for years, and have made a few chef’s knives as gifts. I recently added two of the pairing knives for my kitchen helpers to assist the major feast prep, such as we did this last Thanksgiving.
I will give one of the new knives to my wife as a Christmas present. I decided to make a little box for it…of Padauk of course. I’ve always used scraps of Bubinga for knife handles.
As with most of my woodworking, this knife box is a prototype. The circular cut-out meant to be a finger hold does not work as well as I planned, at least it doesn't for my fat fingers!
Next time I’ll just make a shallow divot at the end of the handle recess so it may be pushed down, which will lift the knife for easier removal."
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I am a DIY guy who enjoys making things. I have always made utilitarian items that performed the intended function but weren't very good as far as craftsmanship goes. As I've grown older, I am making the effort to create more accurate joints so the things I make work better and look nice. It is disappointing when the finished product isn't as good as I had imagined and drawn in the plans. To improve my accuracy, I learned that using a marking knife instead of a pencil could help. I chose the Hock marking knife because it is flat, and Hock Tools has a solid reputation for good quality. All the marking knives I saw at the woodworker supply outlets had handles that cover both sides of the blade, which seems to restrict the use of the knife from marking reference lines from one piece of a project to an adjoining one. I can also use the Hock Tools knife as a chisel plane to remove labels and glue from corners etc. (Dernit, now I don't have an excuse to buy a chisel plane).
I chose to use a magnet so I could take the handle off if I needed to. Later I discovered that I could put the handle on the bottom of the blade and elevate the tip for marking reference lines.
The thing I like most about using
my knife is that it works!
My measurement marks are much more accurate. Now I can concentrate on reducing the stupid mistakes I always make while getting in a hurry or from not paying full attention to what I'm doing. It looks nice too; plus, using something I had a hand in creating makes my hobby time more enjoyable. - Randy Boden
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Randy used K&J Magnetics, D61. The handle is Kirinite, Emerald Bay, 1/4" knife scale from Kirinite.com. Because the holes in the
marking knife blade are 3/16", you can use any 3/16" rod or dowel, or nothing at all and just let the epoxy do the work. Randy cut his pins for the marking knife above from 5mm shelf pins (0.196"), which Randy says, "...fit perfect in the blade holes (.200")."
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For Previous Editions of Sharp & to the Point; A Shameless Shill for Hock Tools,
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