Re: A different gift.... : )
Lyn J. Mangiameli
>I find Tim's suggestion to stike a chord with me. There are some exotic woods that are hard to justify purchasing for oneself, but bring immense pleasure to own, even if they only remain as raw boards. And for small projects like you friend tends to engage in, a little exotic wood can go a long way in a special project.
I must admit, the gifts I have received of wood have probably made more impact on me than most tools. I have a friend that has access to a lot of tools, but occasionally has surprised me with a couple of nice chunks of wood that have crossed his path. The wood and the finished projects have remained associated with that person, and my appreciation.
As for tools, I'd offer a few considerations. I think that the suggestions of a custom Knight plane are good ones, somewhat for the same reasons as for the wood I discussed above. You could select a special wood and or configuration (not to be at all silly, but Steve can incorporate a "racing stripe" of a contrasting wood that makes some of his planes look really classy), that would be a visual work of art as well as a functional tool. If you go this route, I would suggest a Knight Coffin Smoother at 63 degree bedding angle (he did one of these in ebony with a canary wood stripe that was really visually striking), or a Knight Razee Jack Plane. I think these would be in the spirit and style of the type of woodworking your friend does, would offer excellent function, but be something a bit new and interesting.
For commercial planes available at Woodcraft, I would suggest any of the small L-N bench planes. The number one is so uncommon and such a visual treat, and given your friends interests in smaller projects, even offers some practical application. Woodcraft now has on close-out special limited edition versions of the L-N #1 in "white bronze" that come in a presentation box and are numbered. It can be found on their website by going to closeouts, then planes. I also think a L-N #1,2,3,4 in bronze are beautiful and functional planes, that may bring him visual delight whether or not they seemed functionally significant to him. I would also suggest the small L-N scraper plane, that would be well matched to his projects and offer a function not readily duplicated by his Japaneser tools--and of course, it is again visually appealing.
Finally, I'd reiterate the comments of others that it is good to see you over here on the gentle side. BTW, how did that room AC work out (not that we've much had the weather for it yet).
