If you only had one tool, what would it be?
Or, "Who would win in a fight: you or a bear?"
“Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you.” Here’s to making bear stew this weekend. ~JRC
I love these inquiries - the questions from childhood. What's your favorite color? Who do you like more, Luke or Vader? What's tougher, a great white shark or a T-rex?
As for the one and only tool to have: I would choose, of course, a knife.
With a knife, you can cut and fashion all sorts of other things. A knife is the number one survival tool for this reason. You can build a shelter, catch and prepare food, and even perform surgical triage, all using a knife.
Yes, a knife is the one tool that’s a cut above the rest.
But in my shop, I rarely, if ever, use one. In fact, I don't even have a traditional knife handy most days. Instead, I reach for any one of my hundreds of tools that do the job - almost any job - that much better.
There's a tool for everything, it seems, and the more of these I have, the easier my work becomes.
For example, a band saw is useful for making curved cuts. And while you can also make straight cuts with it, the table saw is much better suited to that task. As for cutting intricate curves or designs - this job is best left to the scroll saw. And so goes the list of specialized saws. From circular to Japanese pull, there's a perfect saw for every cut.
Tool specialization exists for almost every action performed by the maker. Whether turning and hammering or gluing and fastening, there's a tool that does it. A maker can spend a lifetime acquiring and learning to use all these. Indeed, a big part of creating is learning how to effectively and safely employ the right tool for the job.
But there is something to be said for making with what you have.
Take again the example of the knife. Having a good one along on a camping trip is essential. One of the great joys of "roughing it" is making do with less than you would at home. A blade becomes a multipurpose tool, often cutting, stirring, and even serving at times.
Similarly, in the right hands, a knife can be an excellent tool for carving. The "whittler's knife" is often a well-worn pocket blade of no remarkable quality. It's what the carver does with the knife that is extraordinary.
In making due - and excelling at it, even without the best tool for the job - joy comes from one's resourcefulness. Not from the equipment used.
In my increasingly well-equipped shop, there's no question that I do more. I use all the various machines and gadgets to make things I never could without them. And I fantasize about further equipping my shop to do even more. A metal lathe and milling machine are high on my wish list, for example.
Sure, these and other additions will dramatically change what I can create. But will the experience be better than it is now? Will having machining tools improve my maker experience that much? My suspicion is no; they will not.
Don't get me wrong; being able to machine metal parts will be a blast. I know it will and I look forward to upping my maker game in this way. The thing is, how I make now without other tools is a thrill already.
Making has always been fun.
Since I first picked up a pencil as a child, I loved to create. And even yesterday, when I ran wood through my table saw, I had the same feeling I did drawing as a kid. I love to make. While new tools change how and what I can create, the making has always been the same. And it’s always been fun.
Creating, with whatever is available, is what it’s all about.
Making then, no matter what I am creating with, is a true joy. Sure, in a pinch, I'd take a knife. And if I were stranded on a desert island, I'd choose one over any other. And who would win in a fight: the bear or me? Probably the bear, but I'd have a fighting chance - with a knife.
Luckily, these scenarios are mostly hypothetical. Instead, in my real world, and so long as I am mentally and physically able, I will make with whatever I have at hand.
And I will cherish every minute of it.
Until next time.
JRC