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Woodcraft can be defined as any of several skills in carving or fashioning objects from wood, such as woodturning, woodcarving, or furniture making.

Some sources, such as Wikipedia, define woodcraft as woodlore, or the skill and experience in living and thriving in the woods, which would include bushcraft and other outdoors activities. However, many of these activities are not crafts, and it seems that crafting with wood should be called woodcraft.

Woodcrafting might also be called woodworking, since it does involve working with wood. Still, woodworking would also include industrial work, and the focus of this part of our guide is on the craft and art of working with wood, so we will call it woodcraft.

People have shaped wood since prehistory. Because wood has a comparatively short lifespan, its record is hidden in impressions and traditions. Early human beings split and shaved green wood for spears, bowls, and hearth tools. By the Neolithic era, cups, ladles, and dugout vessels were a standard part of daily life. Ancient Egyptian workshops refined joinery and surface finishing, and Greek and Roman artisans carved reliefs and devotional objects, while Asian temple carpenters and carvers used wood to produce pillars, masks, and altarpieces. Across the north, small household woodenware included bowls, spoons, combs, and boxes. Indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest raised cedar into poles and bentwood boxes. West African carvers brought life to masks and stools. In Oceania and Aotearoa, wood was used to create canoes and homes.

The 19th-century arts and crafts movement, reacting to industrial sameness, re-centered honest materials, visible tool marks, and the dignity of handwork. This thread still guides contemporary artisans who use wood as a medium. The most resonant pieces accept both patina and repair.

Woodcraft has several designs or styles, many of which are associated with historic eras. Some of the most common styles include Jacobean (Antique), Dutch (American Colonial), Victorian (Traditional), Art Deco (Vintage), and Sheraton (Rustic). Others include retro, modern, minimalist, and contemporary.

Common softwoods used for furniture include cedar, fir, and pine, while hardwoods include ash, beech, birch, cherry, mahogany, oak, and maple.

Several factors go into deciding what type of wood to use for a project. These include the workability and durability of the wood. Woods with good working properties include agba, alder, basswood, obeah, pine, and western cedar. Very durable woods include teak, iron, jarrah, chestnut, oak, and cedar.

While many woods can be used for carving, there are some clear favorites, such as aspen, basswood, butternut, black walnut, and oak. Because it has almost no grain and is notably soft, basswood is particularly popular with beginner carvers. Aspen is similarly soft, although slightly harder than basswood. Butternut has a deeper hue than basswood and aspen, and has a nice grain that is easy to carve. While more expensive than basswood, aspen, and butternut, black walnut is a popular choice for its rich color and grain. Oak is a strong, sturdy, and versatile wood for carving with a defined grain.

Green wood carves like butter and splits predictably, while seasoned wood yields sharper detail and stability. Some forms (spoons, kuksas) benefit from being roughed green and dried before the finishing cuts.

While woodcrafters may also use power tools, hand tools are particularly popular in woodcrafting. These include edge tools (sloyd knives, detail knives, hook knives, bench chisels, gouges, V-tools, small carving axes, adzes, drawknives, spokeshaves, rasps, and card scrapers), saws and planes (dozuki or ryoba for clean cuts, and block and smoothing planes), a sharpening kit (whetstones, strops, and compound), workholding (bench dogs, carver's vises, holdfasts, shaving horse, clamps, and a bench hook anchor), and layout and measuring (marking knife, bevel gauge, and dividers).

Woodcraft includes tradition and a personal voice. Makers teach and learn in small circles, passing along grips, tempos, and the discipline of sharpening. Many artisans embrace humble materials, visible facets, and proportion. Sustainability and the use of local species are fundamental to woodcraft artisans.

To get started, artisans suggest picking a tree rather than a catalog. A fresh birch or maple limb becomes five spoons: split, read the grain, and let each blank suggest its curve. Start with three tools: a small carving axe, a sloyd knife, and a hook knife. Practice edges before objects. Design with touch, dry thoroughly, then oil and use.

 

 

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