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My intuition would be to not give a book on baking bread, but on something tangential to bread baking... like a book on brewing or other kinds of fermentation!

My intuition would be to not give a book on baking bread, but on something tangential to bread baking... like a book on brewing or other kinds of fermentation! Something that connects with their expertise but is new to both of you. If somebody is into knives, maybe gift a course on blacksmithing or some japanese whetstones.

yarcob 6y ago
As a recipient of a blacksmithing course I'd like to say it was one of the best gifts I ever got. But it's a pretty expensive gift. But I've also been given knives a few times, and I loved most of them. It's not like you can have too many knives. I'm not sure what I'd do with an extra set of whetstones though.
- kd0amg 6y ago
  I've been blacksmithing long enough to have arguably too many knives.
war1025 6y ago
> or some japanese whetstones I bought a set of diamond sharpening plates this summer after having had a cheap Arkansas stone for several years. Night and day difference. I can actually get things sharp quickly and consistently now. Since we're on the topic of gifts, if someone out there is thinking of a sharpening setup as a gift, can't recommend diamond plates highly enough. I bought a 300 / 600 / 1200 grit set off Amazon for I think $100
- mauvehaus 6y ago
  A good coarse stone makes all the difference. I have a 220/320 grit diamond plate for flattening my water stones, but it does wonders for making sharpening knives non-onerous. Woodworkers might be interested in the Norton water stone starter set of 2 combo stones 220/1000 and 4000/8000. The 220 wears out of flat so quickly it's useless, but I have the diamond plate anyhow. The 1000 and 8000 are great. The 4000 is a little soft, and you'll replace it before the others. Personally, I'll be replacing it with the Shapton equivalent in another year or two.
  - war1025 6y ago
    I completely agree the 300 grit plate is what makes all the difference.
- yarcob 6y ago
  I've never heard of these diamond plates. Do they take away a lot of material? My whetstones are 2000/6000 grit.
  - busterarm 6y ago
    I use diamond plates to flatten my whetstones mostly, because masochism. They're also great on blades. You wanna look for DMT / Dia-Sharp. All the big online knife shops should have you covered here (epicurean edge, etc)
cwkoss 6y ago
Or unusual bread supplies could be cool. Like flour made from ancient grains and/or ground with a traditional stone mill, etc. For knives, a nice grind stone or knife oil could be useful. I think splurge hobby consumables is a great way to go.
- saalweachter 6y ago
  Eh, not always. Every knitter I know would murder you if you bought them more yarn, even nice yarn, even though they knit frequently. They already have three bins full and are running out of places to stash it.

yarcob 6y ago

As a recipient of a blacksmithing course I'd like to say it was one of the best gifts I ever got. But it's a pretty expensive gift. But I've also been given knives a few times, and I loved most of them. It's not like you can have too many knives. I'm not sure what I'd do with an extra set of whetstones though.

kd0amg 6y ago
I've been blacksmithing long enough to have arguably too many knives.

war1025 6y ago

> or some japanese whetstones I bought a set of diamond sharpening plates this summer after having had a cheap Arkansas stone for several years. Night and day difference. I can actually get things sharp quickly and consistently now. Since we're on the topic of gifts, if someone out there is thinking of a sharpening setup as a gift, can't recommend diamond plates highly enough. I bought a 300 / 600 / 1200 grit set off Amazon for I think $100

mauvehaus 6y ago
A good coarse stone makes all the difference. I have a 220/320 grit diamond plate for flattening my water stones, but it does wonders for making sharpening knives non-onerous. Woodworkers might be interested in the Norton water stone starter set of 2 combo stones 220/1000 and 4000/8000. The 220 wears out of flat so quickly it's useless, but I have the diamond plate anyhow. The 1000 and 8000 are great. The 4000 is a little soft, and you'll replace it before the others. Personally, I'll be replacing it with the Shapton equivalent in another year or two.
- war1025 6y ago
  I completely agree the 300 grit plate is what makes all the difference.
yarcob 6y ago
I've never heard of these diamond plates. Do they take away a lot of material? My whetstones are 2000/6000 grit.
- busterarm 6y ago
  I use diamond plates to flatten my whetstones mostly, because masochism. They're also great on blades. You wanna look for DMT / Dia-Sharp. All the big online knife shops should have you covered here (epicurean edge, etc)

cwkoss 6y ago

Or unusual bread supplies could be cool. Like flour made from ancient grains and/or ground with a traditional stone mill, etc. For knives, a nice grind stone or knife oil could be useful. I think splurge hobby consumables is a great way to go.

saalweachter 6y ago
Eh, not always. Every knitter I know would murder you if you bought them more yarn, even nice yarn, even though they knit frequently. They already have three bins full and are running out of places to stash it.