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Colored leads for mechanical pencils suck. They aren’t made from carbon. Instead, they are usually some sort of gummy ceramic stuff that is fragile and can’t be erased. Now Uni has a new line of leads for 0.5mm pencils that come in several colors. They mark cleanly. They erase. They are wonderful. These NanoDia leads are great when marking dark-colored woods, such as walnut, mahogany and teak. I am always trying to find ways to see my knife lines when dovetailing these species.

We have entered the phase of civilization where quality clothing made in the U.S. is expensive. Sometimes even a luxury item. Paying $100 for a pair of domestic-made jeans is normal. I don’t have a big problem with this. I would rather pay extra to support domestic manufacturing and help my neighbors. If you can’t afford $100 jeans, perhaps try some from Prison Blues.

If you need an open book handy as you work at the bench, kitchen counter or desk, this review is for you. There are lots of unsatisfying ways to hold a book open, and then there is the Kokuyo book weight. It is 7 ounces of mustache-shaped cast iron (or brass). And it does an excellent job of holding books open without damaging a cheap binding or without requiring you to press the gizmo into the spine of the book.

There are lots of commercial options when it comes to shelf pin jigs – and there’s always pegboard.1 There is, of course, also the option of using fixed shelves…because how many times have you actually changed the pin location on your kitchen cabinets?2 But movable shelves are pretty much de rigueur in a kitchen and pantry, so when I was making my pantry storage last fall, I researched shelf pin jigs and decided on a mid-priced model (just under $100) that has a few bells but maybe only one...

I became a screwdriver snob while building the pieces for “Campaign Furniture” (a free pdf download). Because of all the complex brass hardware for this furniture, I spent entire days with a screwdriver in my hand, finessing brass screws into weird holes. My constant companions were my Grace USA drivers. And, truth be told, those are still my favorite screwdrivers. But when it comes to assembling carcases, crates and jigs, I use hex drivers in an electric drill/driver.

It’s not unusual to walk into work to find an unforeseen tool on my bench. It typically happens whenever Chris returns from a trip. Be it a trip for pleasure or business – tools seem to find him. And when they do, he tends to bring something back for me and Katherine. So when two Temple Tool Co. Folding “Butterfly” Saws followed Chris home from Handworks last week, I wasn’t surprised. However, this tool gift came with a price.

You can make any project even crappier by using wire nails. They hold like an arthritic infant, they look like a zinc wart and they bend tragically like a soda straw.1 We recommend Tremont cut nails or forged nails by Rivierre. Or, if you have the money, the best nails are blacksmith-made ones. They are expensive, but they are worth it. Once you start using them, it’s difficult to use anything else. I’ve bought nails from a variety of blacksmiths through the years, but they aren’t always easy to get.

JessEm and Blue Spruce Toolworks have both recently released new cutting gauges that are worth considering. Both are made in North America to high manufacturing standards (unlike many copycat versions of the Tite-Mark that are not worth buying). Megan and I have been using the gauges in the shop for layout work and sat down to discuss what we like (and didn’t like) about the gauges. And we ask the questions: Do we like these more than our beloved Tite-Marks?

I have used an illuminated tracer dozens of times since starting at Lost Art Press last year. The one we’ve had at the shop is an Artograph and is reliable but bulky, and it can get hot if I use it for too long. My dad used this Tracer brand in a class he recently took and became fond of it (Chris here: I was mostly amazed at its price. These new light boxes are incredibly cheap compared to ones from even a few years ago). It’s a less expensive lightweight design that can still get the job done.

Editor s note: Here at Never Sponsored we are always on the lookout for different/new tools to saddle chair seats. The Veritas Pullshave is an interesting tool that we have not given a proper review. In this article, Rudy Everts of Underhatchet discusses the pullshave after having worked with it for several years. The tool in its natural habitat. The so-called pullshave (made by Veritas), is a tool designed to smooth concave areas, such as chair seats.