Thread: What's your favourite tool that isn't a plane?

My marking knifes. I have a Pfeil marking knife I use for most marking out of lines and a skinny old kitchen knife I use to get into the gaps to mark out fine dovetail joints. Of all the things I have done to improve the accuracy of my work, using a marking knife instead of a pencil made the most radical difference and almost immediately. That and a shooting board made an enormous difference. I have 3 shooting boards: one for 90 degrees and 2 for mitres. The first mitre board does narrow mitres such as the mitres on picture frames and the second does wider mitres like those on the corners of boxes. With the marking knife and shooting boards I can get perfect cuts by hand every time.

The first obvious answer was a handsaw ... and not a tiddly little backsaw ... but there's also braces and carving chisels ...

but actually to think a bit wider, the thing that I pick up that says dependable every time is the curly-legged pair of clippers I use for pulling nails out of old timber. So simple, well-made, old, flexible, strong - everything a great tool should be.

Cheers,
Paul

For pure simplicity, versatility and effectiveness... would have to be my scrapers. Absolutely love my scrapers. Even if I know that they still hold a nice burr from when I used them last, I love the ritual of preparing them for the occasion.

Seeing the collection of shavings or curls accumulate whilst timber and metal combine to create a symphony that stirs the soul would have to be as good as it gets. Almost brings a tear to the eye.

Spoke shave, such a fun tool to use!

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I think the question is too hard for me as most of my tools are well liked. I dont think I have any one favourite tool. For some jobs there is a go to plane and a go to chisel, saw, hammer, square and so on but it does depend on the job in hand.
Regards
John

This is my favourite tool/rig/jig.
I designed and built it together with my BIL, and I rate it as the tool that exceeds my expectations far more than any other I have bought or made
In contrast to the peace and tranquility of using hand tools (which I do like using) t's loud, dirty and moderately hard work, and consistently make me appreciate how much effort goes into extracting a decent piece of timber from its source.

It'd have to be my dead blow mallet.

+1 for code....

My spoke shaves = one for coarse work, the other for kissing off the ridges.
Cutting well, the shavings are a delight to watch and the resultant stick has
a feel unmatched by commercial round wood.

Wow that's tough... I do love my travisher, but my favourite if shear miles in hand is an indication has to be the 10" half back hand saw. I've recently taken a real shine to my new froe too though.

This is a bit of a tough one at the moment. If I was to say what my favourite tool was at the moment is the one I used the most that would be the pencil. But there is one other item that completes with the pencil and that is the reason for using the pencil and that is my Japanese pull saw.

Would have to be my Starrett combination square. I use it on every project and is very accurate.

Hmmm,
Perhaps I could get away with one class of tool?
Layout tools of every type.
Squares, Bevels, awls, joinery knives, gauges
Like many of you out there I'm a toolaholic

Thanks for all the posts so far! There's some great tools here, I had to look up what a travisher and a froe were!

Contrary to what you might think, this thread is not my way of finding a Christmas wish list to leave lying subtly around the house - it's a bit late for that now, although some of your suggestions might make it onto my wish list for next year.

For many years, my favourite tool is always the most recently purchased one, because it was bought for a good reason, and it does the job that nothing else was able to do properly. But more and more, I'm appreciating the tools I bought ages ago, and have looked after for years, learning how to use them better each time, improving them along the way, or just taking care of them from year to year, and keeping them in top working order.

I love that some people have posted the nasty looking tools or the big noisy ones, not because they are so precise and full of finesse, but because they just get the job done, and because you don't have to look after them. I love my work boots for precisely this reason. I bought my first pair of steelcaps about 6 months ago, and I love every minute of not having to look after them while I'm stomping around in the dirt and mud, or kicking around a renovation site.

I love looking after my good tools, and I love NOT looking after my nasty ones.

A few months ago now I bought myself one of these Pica Dry Pencils.
I've been a builder for well over 30 years now and I admit to being a bit of a gadget addict- can't help myself really. I have to say, this is by far the best pencil I have ever used. It appears awkward with it's ungainly sheath, but in use it is a simply brilliant design.
It really works and works very well indeed. I won't be caught working without it.
The lead is amazing. It marks materials that no other pencil will- like very waxy porcelin tiles. But then a little moisture and the marks come right off. Even with very difficult materials, like sandstone. Brilliant!

Next, whilst it's not quite a power tool, it's my cordless 6 1/4 saw and cordless jigsaws.

If it's hand tools then I often reach for my Gyokucho brand Japanese Saws. My favorites are the large combination rip/crosscut and then a fine Dozuki saw that has more than 1001 uses. I never re-sharpen these saws, so once they are finished as a saw, they have a second life as cabinet scrapers. They have great steel for making scrapers.