This interesting article appeared in the Telegraph 14/01/09 “England’s last remaining master cooper Alastair Simms has predicted that the nation’s barrel-making trade will go to the grave with him. “ Mr Simms said his “only regret” is that no one will carry on the trade when he retires Mr Simms, 45, began working as an apprentice cooper on his sixteenth…
I have just been sent a lovely letter from Stanley Clark a retired ladder maker. He is 70 in April and no longer capable of making ladders but wishes to share some of his extensive knowledge of the craft. He was apprenticed in 1954 straight from school to John Ward and Son Ladder makers, Bugbrooke Northampton. His letter tells how…
I have been working on a commission for a commemorative gate made from oak. I cut the oak and had my friend Andy make the gate up since he does tighter joints than I do, then I carved it to give it nice organic flowing lines. Today I took it to my blacksmith friend Darren Ainsworth. He is very much…
This seems like a good subject for the first post of 2009. My major aim for this year is to achieve a national organisation to campaign for traditional crafts. Why is a new organisation needed? The traditional crafts are currently in a state of crisis. Many skills which have been part of our culture for centuries are now practiced by…
For many years I have felt we need an organisation to support traditional crafts in the UK. I have lobbied and campaigned in the hopes of getting a government organisation but finally realised that it will be better if it comes from the craftspeople ourselves. The last few weeks I have been in correspondence with many folk in the traditional…
Well not green wood tools but I visited this place on Thursday along with knifemaker Grace Horne and it was great. Eric Grinding Ian glasing, that is using a hard felt buffing wheel with abrasive Cliff working his magic on a nearly finished pair Notice the slope on the hammer head so it comes down flat on the stiddy with…
I don’t think I have posted anything on the blog yet about my wife Nicola’s research. here is a video overview. So whilst many of our friends know Nicola as a spooncarver by daytime she is Dr Nicola Wood of Sheffield Hallam University and conducts research into how craft skills and tacit knowledge are handed on. She is particularly interested…
Last week was half term and Jojo wanted to have a go in the forge at making a woodcarving knife for herself. I was busy turning but able to pop across and give advice from time to time but she pretty much just got on with it. In the forge The first rough forged knife, she made 3 Rough grinding…
The children are off school now and work and childcare have to be juggled over the next few weeks. One day this week Ollie and I spent the morning at the forge, he is very skilled at carving with a knife so I thought I would let him make his own knife. We started with an old car spring, heated…
Last weekend I went to Kent on an intensive bladesmithing course with master smith Owen Bush. I have been forging my own woodturning tools for 15 years but everything I do has been learned by trial and error and I wanted to see if I could improve the quality of my tools so that they stay sharper for longer. It…
