Built for Spills

Now this might be boring for some of you but I think that its awesome. I love history and I love tools. Those that know me know that it is a small obsession…OK big obsession (and also to those that know me, know that I can’t tell a story without jumping all over the place like a kid who lost his medication). Tools are some of the most fascinating things! And they are so linked to the history of the world. Major periods of human existence are separated by the tools that were used. The stone age, the bronze age, the iron age…
I was reading about a tool called a spill plane. I had no idea what a spill was until I yahoo’d it. That’s right…yahoo! I have defied the great google master of the north. Anyway a spill is a curled shaving of wood that was used to transfer a flame. Before matches these were important little things. You could even barter with them at the tavern if you wanted (I wish I could get beer for a handful of sticks). What a spill plane did was shave off these little curly pieces of wood for use around the house. Now you gotta have something to put these things in. What to use? What about a spill vase? These were found all over the house next to fireplaces and would hold those little shavings for when they need to be used. All of this before the advent of matches.
I’ve got so many tools and so many tools that I want to get that I’ll probably give a list of tools to my widow to pick up and bury beside me. I want to be buried underneath my workshop actually…better yet I want a replica built underground that I’m put to rest in. Kind of like a pharaoh…except with tools.
Anyway I’m going to try and make some planes in the next couple of months. A lot like this guy over at Anderson planes that makes some really awesome tools. He’s returning to the day when the tool was treasured piece of art from another craftsman. I want to go to the hardware store now.