Today is the last day to get a free PDF with your print order of “Sharpen This” by Christopher Schwarz and/or “Euclid’s Door” by George Walker and Jim Tolpin. After midnight tonight (Sept. 30, 2022), the combo of the hardcover books and pdf will cost more.
“Euclid’s Door” is Jim and George’s latest exploration of artisan geometry. In this new book they show you how to build a set of highly accurate and beautiful wooden layout tools using simple geometry and common bench tools. This practical application of geometry will train your hands and mind to use this ancient wisdom. And you’ll end up with a fantastic set of useful tools.
“Sharpen This,” Chris’s latest book, is one he wished he’d had when learning woodworking. It would have saved him money (no buying unnecessary sharpening equipment) and time in learning how to grind, hone and polish. It’s a short and blunt treatise about sharpening common bench tools: chisels and planes mostly. Chris explains how sharpening really works and what you need to do the job well – and no more.
If you were planning to order either (or both) and have not yet gotten around to it, today would be a good day.
I am happy to tell you that my daughter Katherine is now selling the following stickers in her etsy shop. This sticker set features three images on 100-percent waterproof vinyl material. The stickers are sold as a set. We cannot sell individual stickers (sorry).
The Return of “Sharpen This”
One of our most popular (and notorious) stickers was this image of a bony hand making a gesture superimposed on a sharpening stone. With the publication of the new book, “Sharpen This,” we received a lot of requests for the sticker. We decided to go even further. This sticker fits on the cover of “Sharpen This” book and covers its diestamp. So your sticker becomes the image on the cover.
Build Instead of Buy
This sticker combines two of our favorite things. The expression “Build Instead of Buy” is the ethos behind “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” The image is the first known pictorial representation of a stick chair. It’s a 12th or 13th century drawing from a Welsh book of laws. It also proves that stick chairs predated Windsor chairs by at least 300 years.
Rest for the Weary
We also brought back one of our favorite stickers that is based on an image I modified from a banner of the Fancy Chair-makers. Illustration from the Memoir prepared for the celebration of the completion of the Erie Canal by Cadwallader D. Colden, 1825. Instead of a fancy chair, I put in a silhouette of my favorite stick chair from St Fagans.
The stickers ship out in an envelope. Domestic orders are $10 with shipping included. They ship USPS first class. International orders ($12 with shipping included) go airmail.
We are filming a full-length video to complement my “Sharpen This” book. Megan is filming it, and I am editing it. The video will be available next month.
One of the film’s many segments is about my personal sharpening kit. You might find the information interesting. Plus, this short video will give you a feel for the level of immaturity in the video as a whole. Serious information. But with a bit of levity.
As mentioned in the video, all of this equipment is mine. I bought it. Paid full price. And so I have stuff to say about it – good and bad.
Here are links to the products mentioned in the video. I do not get any kickbacks from these links. I chose these suppliers because I use these suppliers. Yes, the last two links are to our store.
I suspect that this blog entry will kick off a lot of questions along the lines of: Could you compare this brand of fart sharpener to a second brand? And the answer is: no, not reliably. I have used a lot of systems. But comparing them in a meaningful manner is beyond the scope of most humans.
Here’s what I can say: All the systems work. You get what you pay for. Buy from a reliable manufacturer that stands behind its products. And complexity is not your friend.
One of John Porritt’s chairs. Inspired by Welsh and other vernacular chairs.
Touching a surface that had been gently used for hundreds of years is something that cannot be easily replicated. And so, for the most part, I’ve never attempted it.
Why? I’ve seen hundreds of new pieces of furniture that have been “aged” through chemical and physical abuse. And to be honest they reminded me of people who had also been through those kinds of abuse. Empty – and a bit wanting.
It wasn’t until I met John Porritt, a professional chairmaker and finisher, that I encountered surfaces that had the same magical quality of an antique from 1790. It’s not that John was trying to fool me with his finishes. John was completely upfront about his work. But his finishes had the same spirit of old work.
Arm detail.
Everything – and I mean everything – has been mellowed. Nothing shouts or screams or insists upon itself. The surfaces are there. They are believable. And they feel… human.
That’s because they are made with great care and zero cynicism.
Most surprising was the amount of careful burnishing that goes into John’s work. After three seconds of thought, this should be obvious. Furniture surfaces aren’t just abraded by the years of use. They are also gently compressed by everything from your tailbone to the rivets on your pants.
A pot scrubber for burnishing.
The tools for burnishing are pretty simple. A couple deer antlers. The shaft of a screwdriver. A chainmail pot scrubber and a few special pebbles. But what isn’t simple is how they are applied during the process and how often. Burnishing isn’t like a seal coat of shellac (“And now we burnish!). Instead it is an ongoing process throughout finishing. Different amounts of burnishing on different areas of the piece.
The subtle glow and shine that results from the work is its own reward.
The underside of a seat.
Also fascinating is how John applies and removes color. Again, color isn’t just a single stage in the process. It is added and removed (using a variety of simple processes) to produce surfaces that are almost luminous, and that fade into the surfaces above and below the color.
If all this sounds too complex or way over your abilities, it’s not. Nothing in “The Belligerent Finisher” is difficult. Or beyond the ability of a passionate beginner. Indeed, it is the combination of these simple and individual steps that is the genius of John’s work.
John’s shop in Upstate New York.
If you know my work, you know I make no effort to tone down the crisp lines and newness of my work. I do this out of honesty. But at the same time, my goal is to create work that reduces your blood pressure (read the chapter “Seeing Red” in “The Anarchist’s Design Book”). So John’s work has me thinking – a lot.
With one of my recent chairs I started burnishing its surfaces, much like he describes in “The Belligerent Finisher.” It wasn’t difficult. It was actually pleasurable. And after some paint and black wax, I could feel the difference the burnishing made. Everything was just a little more wanting to be touched.
I’m not one to make sudden changes in my work. I am completely iterative. But I can feel John’s ideas scratching at the back of my brain. His chairs and his surfaces are just too beautiful to ignore.
“The Belligerent Finisher” is both a revelation and a bargain at $21. You can read it in an afternoon. But it will stick with you for a lot longer.
This six-stick comb-back chair is one of the four chairs I built during the filming of our “Build a Stick Chair” video. It features a squarish back, 14 sticks and details found on many of my favorite Welsh chairs. (I wouldn’t call this a Welsh stick chair, however.)
This chair is set up for general use. The back leans 11° off the seat, and the seat is tilted 6°, so the back leans 17° off the floor. The seat is 17” above the floor, which is a good height for most sitters. Overall, the chair is 38-1/2” tall and is 19-3/4” tall at the arms.
The hands of the chair feature through-tenons that have been shaped pyramidal. The stretchers also use through-tenons, which add strength to the chair’s undercarriage.
Like all my chairs, the joints are assembled with hide glue and oak wedges, so the joints are strong but can be easily repaired by future generations. The walnut is finished with a home-cooked linseed oil/wax finish that has no dangerous solvents. The finish offers low protection, but it is easy to repair by the owner with no special skills or tools.
Purchasing the Chair
This chair is being sold via silent auction. (I’m sorry but the chair cannot be shipped outside the U.S.) If you wish to buy the chair, send an email to lapdrawing@lostartpress.com before 3 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday, Sept. 30. In the email please use the subject line “Chair Sale” and include your:
First name and last name
U.S. shipping address
Daytime phone number (this is for the trucking quote only)
Your bid (don’t forget this…)
Shipping options: You are welcome to pick up the chair here in Covington, Ky., and also get a free yardstick and pencil. I am happy to deliver the chair personally for free within 100 miles of Cincinnati, Ohio. Or we can ship it to you via LTL. The cost varies (especially these days), but it is usually between $200 and $500.
