Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>"The Pye distinction is a useful one here, but not useful in the general distinction of power and hand tools."

It's been a while since I read Pye's book that includes this argument, but, as I recall, he was not equating hand/power and risk/certainty definitions. Indeed, it is part of the point of this argument that the motive power for the tool is less relevant than the degree to which the mechanic exercises control over the finished product.

Elsewhere in the same book, he makes the argument that the irregularities that are unavoidable with the workmanship of risk are what make made objects, whether buildings, furniture, or whatever, aesthetically interesting - though he did not celebrate what he called "hairy shirts." He felt that a good worker should strive for the highest possible quality, while recognizing that irregularities are inevitable, and that the viewer should seek the highest quality, and appreciate the irregularities.

Clearly, he would not have enjoyed the chrome steel/glass aesthetic.