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Furniture & Cabinetmaking magazine has in its winter 2012 issue honored Ron Hock’s “The Perfect Edge” (Popular Woodworking) and Christopher Schwarz’s “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” (Lost Art Press), as well as Robert Wearing’s “The Essential Woodworker” (Lost Art Press), for which Chris is the editor and publisher, with inclusion on its “Essential Reading List.”
Also on the list of 12 titles are such luminaries as James Krenov and Charles Hayward; Ron and Chris are in excellent company.
I couldn’t agree more with what the magazine has to say about “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” providing excellent information on all the hand tools you need for 95 percent of your work, and why and how you should build and use a tool chest – but I’ll add that the philosophy behind the title is for me the most compelling part of the book. (That said, I’m two-thirds done with my chest build and I’m picking out paint colors, and I own many of the tools Chris recommends.)
About “The Essential Woodworker,” F&C writes, “This is a seminal text that every single woodworkers should have to hand when undertaking any project.” Again, I concur – and it’s an excellent choice for just those getting started in woodworking.
And about “The Perfect Edge,” F&C writes, “This is by far the best overall text on sharpening available and it is clear that Ron Hock has a real enthusiasm for his subject.” ‘Nuff said.
Congratulations to Ron and Chris.
Derek Jones, editor of Furniture & Cabinetmaking, kindly provided a PDF of the article; click on the link below to download:


