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It’s been 200 years since artisan hand-loom weavers in England began smashing and burning the factory machinery that was rendering their jobs obsolete, but some things haven’t changed: robots keep making more of the things people used to make, and Luddites–or at least a 21st century version of them–live on.
The modern Luddite tends to have a more personal, less violent disdain for technology than his predecessors, but that doesn’t mean he owns, or wants to own, a smartphone. What this person needs instead is an addictive toy that doesn’t run on batteries. He could probably also use a good old-fashioned shave and some high-end personal accessories. Check out our gallery for a full list of suggestions.
Zen Magnets
Everyone deserves to have at least one dangerously addictive time-sucking diversion in life–even people who refuse to live under the near-constant glow of a liquid crystal display. This holiday season, give the luddite in your life the gift of frivolous obsession with a set of Zen Magnets. They look harmless enough, but these shiny little beads exert a virtually inescapable force on any curious person who comes close enough to touch them. (Note: It is possible to be too curious–the strongly magnetic beads can be fatal if swallowed.) $38.24, Zen Magnets
Men’s Hardwood Shaving Kit
This old-fashioned shaving kit will take the distinguished luddite in your life back to a time before the disposable bic, before the 5-blade razor, before the aloe strip or the electric razor, when men shaved in style. The set shown here includes a hardwood bowl, natural bristle brush, and shaving bar for $30. Or, if you want to get a little fancier with a nicer brush or a classy razor, check out Reddit.com’s Wicked Edge for pro tips and recommendations. Shaving kit: $30, [Etsy
Manual Coffee Grinder
The truth is, most of us have electric grinders that chop our coffee beans into a pile of particles so unevenly sized they could have melted out of a glacier, which results in brewed coffee that is either sludgy and harsh (too many fine grains) or weak and watery (too many large grains). In contrast, the Hario Mini Mill Slim produces evenly ground coffee at a variety of settings. Oh, and you can take it camping! $34, Amazon
The Toaster Project
A few years ago, designer Thomas Thwaites bought an old toaster, took it apart, and decided to build a new one…from scratch. “The Toaster Project” is the often hilarious story of Thwaites’s blunder-filled quest to make one of the most basic appliances of the modern age. $13.50, Amazon
Slide Rules Represent
Help your favorite luddite sport some slide rule pride (without actually making him use a slide rule). Mug, $18.00, cafepress; T-shirt: $27.99, cafepress
Code 38 Wine Key
Have you ever found yourself in possession of a tool so well-designed and constructed that you can’t help marveling at it, and maybe even at human ingenuity in general, every time you use it? This is that kind of tool. $195.00, Code38
K-TOR Pocket Socket Hand Crank Generator
K-TOR Pocket Socket Hand Crank Generator Portable Power Supply 10 Watts 120 Volts Made in the USA $60, Amazon
Rite in the Rain Notebook
If you buy someone this notebook and he fills it with important thoughts and beautiful sketches and then he takes it hiking and accidentally drops it into a stream, that’s…no problem! The pages are waterproof. $17.95, Rite in the Rain
