It's What's Between You and the Wood - Quality from Your Hand to Heirloom |
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Greetings!
I hope you are enjoying the change of seasons – the equinox was yesterday so it is officially Fall. Though here on the edge of the continent, we’re finally getting some beautiful, warm, summery weather.
Hock Tools continues to be busy. A few of our items are out of stock but we expect a shipment next week that should help, for a while, anyway. Yes, the supply chain is fragile, backorders are more frequent than I like, but you have all have been of exceptionally good cheer throughout. This makes it easier to also be of good cheer. All in all, I know I am a fortunate toolmaker.
Of course, if there is anything you need from Hock Tools, please let me know.
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Ron Hock
Hock Tools
(888) 282-5233
(707) 964-2782
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We are thrilled David Heim said yes when Princeton’s Architectural Press asked him to write a book about woodworking tools. In "the pre-COVID day," our community of mostly small, independent toolmakers of woodworking handtools got together at woodworking shows, such as Handworks, in Amana, Iowa.
We look forward to that time again. Not just for meeting face-to-face with customers but being together with other toolmakers is something of a heady experience. Sometimes labeled The Proud & Unplugged, we not only respect one another and care about each other's ongoing success, we like each other!
While reading, and once you have turned the last page, you will understand what makes each toolmaker tick. You may have thought our collective notable trait is being a bit "against the grain" - and there may be something to that - but as Heim reveals, making quality products is the most singular thing that unites The Proud & Unplugged. Each toolmaker Heim discusses is driven by issues of quality, and by what woodworkers want in their tools.
As in his other work, in Saws, Planes, and Scorps Heim displays an honest appreciation and respect for toolmakers. This new book is well worth your time, especially now when live and energetic vendor trade shows where The Proud & Unplugged share the floor with each other and hundreds of ardent woodworkers, are still a hope-filled promise waiting for this pandemic to end.
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As David Heim Describes It
"I’ve been writing about woodworking and woodturning for the better part of fifteen years, but most of that writing has been about the finished product—the furniture or the bowl. So, I was delighted that Princeton Architectural Press offered me a chance to write about the tools. For someone like me, who thinks a quarter-inch, either way, is close enough, it was enlightening to meet and talk with people all over the world who think half a thousandth is too sloppy.
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David Heim at the lathe, again!
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The people I profiled—and their tools—are extraordinary for their devotion to accuracy and to fine design. For example, Steve Voigt, a plane-maker in Pennsylvania, uses quartersawn beech for his tools’ bodies. He had a blank of beech on his workbench, marked with the piece he wanted to cut out of it. The marks were no more than two degrees off from the edges of the blank. Most of us wouldn’t notice that tiny shift in grain direction, but boy did it matter to Steve. That kind of detail and precision is common among these artisans. I’m glad I could bring these fabulous tools and their makers to the attention of a wider audience." |
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For Previous Editions of Sharp & to the Point; A Shameless Shill for Hock Tools,
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T h a n k Y o u
f o r C h o o s i n g
H o c k T o o l s
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3 9 Y e a r s
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E x c e l l e n c e
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L e t 's G e t S o c i a l |
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Ron Hock is Past-President
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Continuing the Legacy
of James Krenov
with Awards & Scholarships for Woodworkers.
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