The world's largest pencil sharpener

This week reminded me of something I haven't thought about in years - hames!

Yeah, that's not a misspelling.

Back in the day, woodworking catalogs sold hames for attaching to the top of a walking stick - a way to personalize your stick. They were available in a variety of designs - anything from eagles 

to dragons,

 dogs, you name it!

Years ago, I taught a class where we made walking sticks, and basically, we attached a hame to a stick, did a bit of carving, and wound up with something like this.   Compasses were really popular! 

 

These toppers have really gotten fancy - like this one that converts to a telescope,

 or this one that has a really nice compass. 

 

 

To be honest, it was a simple project - just whittle the end of the stick down to a 3/4" dowel, and attach the topper.  But - getting that stick to a perfectly round 3/4" end was a challenge. 

Enter the world's largest pencil sharpener!  

Well, not this big. 

 

Or this big!

 But this... a 3/4" tenenor from Lee Valley.

 

 I'd forgotten that I had one, until someone came to the shop and asked if I could tenon some sticks for them, as they were making a small stool that needed some 3/4" tenons on each end. 

 

I haven't pulled out this tenon cutter in years, so I wanted to test it first. I've found it's best to clamp everything firmly in place,

 to avoid any mishaps.  This cutter worked perfectly! 

 

  

 

Like I said - the world's largest pencil sharpener!  

I wound up with a perfectly tenoned end. 

Since I had an old rubber mallet head in the shop (in need of a handle), I'll spend some an afternoon shaping the handle to fit my hand. 

Here's the sad truth - most woodworkers are tool junkies. 

We buy various tools because they have potential for future projects. 

I'm talking about everything from dovetail jigs to wood threaders to tenoners, inlay kits to chopstick making jigs. The list is endless. 

We squirrel away these tools until the right moment presents itself, and then we pull them out, and hopefully remember how to use it! 

Luckily for me, and the woman who wanted those tenons cut this week, it was easy to remember how to use this tool!