The Only Question Worth Fighting About

Plus, an updated recipe for even softer finishing wax.

Sheepwash in Devon. A turning point in my woodworking life.

Last week I encountered two jackasses arguing on the internet about whether a handplane should be set down on its sole or its side. Normally I scroll past this inutile chum, but then I realized that both of the woodworkers who were slap-fighting like pudgy infants should 100 percent know better.

Honestly, this handplane-side-vs-sole shit is on the intellectual level of “My dad can beat up your dad.” So when experienced woodworkers engage in it, I assume only one thing: They just want some attention.

You might, however, be asking yourself this: If not the position of the handplane’s sole, then what should we argue about? What are the “great questions” of our craft?

For me, there is only one important question.