Holds Chisels and Gouges up to 1-1⁄2 in. Wide

If you wear flannel on your back and sawdust in your hair, you have a friend in Nick Offerman. He keeps woodworking on prime-time television, as the lovable throwback Ron Swanson in the NBC comedy Parks & Rec. He also quietly runs a woodshop in L.A., where he gives a number of up-and-coming pros a home. Aside from furniture commissions, Offerman’s “elves” sell a range of gift items and shop gear, kicking back just 10% to overhead. For an entertaining look at life in the Offerman Woodshop, go to “Nick Offerman gives handcrafters a home, and you can help.”

I recently tried their tool roll, and found it to be thoughtfully designed and solidly made. The outside is tough denim, the inside corduroy, and the tool pockets lined with leather to resist razor-sharp edges. It holds chisels and gouges up to 1-1⁄2 in. wide. This tool roll is pricier than mass-produced models, but as Offerman says on a hand-stamped card: “Dear champion of shop fashion, thank you for supporting our small operation, where honest Americans make beautiful woodcrafts with our bare hands.”

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