But the principle may be stated more broadly still. I have confined the illustration of it to architecture, but I must not leave it as if true of architecture only. Hitherto I have used the words imperfect and perfect merely to distinguish between work grossly unskilful, and work executed with average precision and science; and I have been pleading that any degree of unskilfulness should be admitted, so only that the laborer’s mind had room for expression. But, accurately speaking, no good work whatever can be perfect, and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art. This for two reasons, both based on everlasting laws. The first, that no great man ever...
The fluting engine is a simple device. Pull on the lever, and the cutter – attached to a short arm at a right angle to the lever – moves in an arc and cuts a path through the wood. Rotate the turntable a bit and repeat – somewhere between 50 and 100 times to complete one pass around. Raise the table, and make another pass. Then repeat, perhaps carving 1/32" to 1/16" at a time until you’ve carved out a bowl. This is what happens, but the description completely misses the wonder of carving a bowl this way. The sound of a sharp cutter slicing through the wood is amazingly satisfying. The cuts come out glistening from the sharp edge...
After we rived enough parts for two chairs, Kenneth opened a tool chest full of drawknives and I used a half-dozen different styles to begin refining the riven parts. Kenneth had spent many hours with these tools. He had no trouble using any of them, but knew the ones that fit his body best. I had the freedom to switch back and forth between drawknives, finding those that felt most natural to my hand and comparing them to the only drawknife I had used, an antique from my grandfather’s farm. Kenneth noticed that the handles of my grandfather’s knife had been bent out of parallel, so we spent the last part of the afternoon removing the wooden handles, heating up...
It’s easy to imagine the logical progression of the use of these plants in furniture. Centuries ago in Europe and Asia, homes commonly possessed earthen or dirt floors, and rushes were often gathered and spread in living spaces as a means of refreshing the room and insulating against cold. Indigenous peoples in North America often wove cattail mats as places to sit and sleep. Rush basketry and other crafts were common in those days, and it doesn’t take a leap to imagine how readily and naturally the fiber was incorporated into the frames of simple chairs when they came along. The use of this material throughout history highlights a common human trait that has only recently faded away: making the...
The aesthetics of tool handle designs can be so deceiving in their beauty that they hide the fact that they are part of a sophisticated feedback loop. A tool handle may look simple, but that doesn’t mean every aspect of the tool hasn’t been carefully thought out. The shape of a chisel or knife handle tells our body exactly how the cutting edge is oriented and what angle to position it to execute a clean cut. Scientists have been stymied for decades trying to map the electrochemical signals in the brain during complex thinking. No less mysterious is how our hand connects with the curved sweep of an axe handle such that we can throw the blade with our arms...
The driving of a nail is a vivid illustration of the kind of skill and agency that is often underappreciated in our time. No one comes out of the womb able to swing 16 ounces of steel on the end of a stick to a precise location with a precise amount of force. This is an acquired skill that, once gained, becomes a mindless and simple task. When a confident craftsperson is absorbed in hammering, there is no consciousness of the features and characteristics of the hammer. The only thing that would bring attention to the tool itself would be if something went wrong – the head came loose, the board split in a weak spot, etc. When all is...
And how, it will be asked, are these products to be recognized, and this demand to be regulated? Easily: by the observance of three broad and simple rules: 1. Never encourage the manufacture of any article not absolutely necessary, in the production of which Invention has no share. 2. Never demand an exact finish for its own sake, but only for some practical or noble end. 3. Never encourage imitation or copying of any kind, except for the sake of preserving record of great works. I shall perhaps press this law farther elsewhere, but our immediate concern is chiefly with the second, namely, never to demand an exact finish, when it does not lead to a noble end. For observe,...
In celebration Pye Day, we are sharing this excerpt from an article about the replication and use of David Pye’s idiosyncratic “fluting engine.” … Using the tool is an exercise in combined precision and randomness. With every different intended design, there are variables that change the use of the machine and its setup in some way or other. And once everything is working the way it is supposed to, every rotation of the turntable feels risky. Will each of the supposedly controlled strokes do what you want? Will the wood cooperate (as some grain patterns in the wood deflect the cutter a little and other areas are prone to tearing out)? Will the pattern you’ve established on the previous rotation...
We've been on a bit of a John Ruskin kick lately. In Issue Ten, we printed an excerpt from his classic work, The Stones of Venice, in which he extols the virtues of free workmanship. The opening spread of that article (titled "Savageness") might be my favorite ever. As I wrote in the introduction to that excerpt, Ruskin's impact on the world would be hard to overstate. As a brilliant thinker, social critic, and art scholar, Ruskin's ideas shaped cultural reforms in England, India, France, and many other places. I managed to track down a beautiful, complete set of The Stones of Venice on eBay for less than $50. This is an 1886 edition, published by George Allen. Allen was an early pupil and friend...
Whenever Mike and I are asked about upcoming issues, we try to contain our enthusiasm so as not to oversell our products. But we are usually so excited about the upcoming material because we bust our butts trying to make each issue even more refined, fascinating, and beautiful than the last. We are constantly honing the variety of skills it takes to bring this magazine into being. It seems like each time we discuss the latest issue on our podcast, we end up saying this one is “the best one yet.” The temptation is so strong that we’ve even made a rule for ourselves to refrain from that particular phrase so as not to tire our readers. With Issue...
