Enjoy this chat with blacksmith and tool maker, Adam Ashworth. He shares his story of woodworker-turned-blacksmith that was sparked, like many, by an obsession with green woodworking and spoon carving. He shares his insights into mastering the craft of knife making and the niche he has, pun intended, carved out for himself making sloyd knives. We discuss some of the specifics of being a self-employed craftsperson and, as always, we dive into the technical aspects of his craft, most notably Adam's recent foray into the ancient craft of metal etching. We hope you enjoy this chat!

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https://www.instagram.com/adamashworth97/

https://www.ashandiron.co.uk/

We're back with our first in-person guest, Zach Chrisinger. We hear his story of going from first time carpenter to full-fledged green woodworker and how he fell in love with the pole lathe. We discuss the pros & cons of learning from the internet, being on social media, and what really drives Zach to pursue and hone his craft. We get into the finer details of teaching green woodworking skills as well as our usual foray into the nitty gritty of tools and the accessories skills required to master pole lathe turning. It was a real pleasure to have Zach down for the first in-person chat!

PLEASE NOTE: Being our first time recording 3 people in the same room, the audio is not the most stellar we've put out, but with a little finessing it turned out OK. We hope you can look past this and enjoy the contents of the chat!

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https://www.instagram.com/chrisingers.cuts

https://www.chrisingerscuts.com/

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

https://www.mainecoastcraft.com

https://www.instagram.com/thebodgingbigfootllc/

We are back! And joined by the one and only spoon carving, coppiced Christmas tree growing maverick, Emmet Van Driesche. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, starting by learning about Emmet's journey to becoming a full-time spoon carver, to the trials and tribulations of making a living using social media. We discuss his unique path as a professional spoon carver, how he brought his skills as writer to create Spoonesaurus magazine and his three books and how craft and spoon carving contributes to one's mental wellbeing. Emmet also shares some insights into his workflow, what inspires him to keep progressing and growing his business, and how he manages his unique Christmas tree farm. + more!

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FOLLOW EMMET

https://www.instagram.com/emmet_van_driesche

https://www.emmetvandriesche.com/

https://www.instagram.com/spoonesaurus/

https://www.spoonesaurus.com/

Join us for this chat with crafty axe maker Julia Kalthoff. We learn about her lifelong craft journey from her mother's fabric store to working for Wetterlings. We get into all of the the details of the inception and production of the axes she makes--from the long process of refining each aspect of the design and production, to the rigorous refinement of the metallurgical alchemy of tool making, to some of the finer points of grind geometry, fitting the handles and more. We also touch on the subject of preserving a strong and healthy body whilst pursuing handcraft beyond the hobby scale. And she offers a refreshing to our famous last question... We really enjoyed speaking with Julia, she is a wealth of knowledge and experience!

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https://www.instagram.com/kalthoffaxes/

https://www.kalthoffaxes.se/

Mentions from the episode:

Beth Moen

Wetterlings

Hultafors

Gransfors Bruks

Copy lathe in action

Handle horse

Join us for this lively conversation with none other than Zed Shah. We get into a wide range of topics, learning about Zed's inroad to bushcraft, spooncarving and the broader sloyd world from his background in social work and marketing. We explore how the geographical & cultural distinctions influence craft in different parts of the world, and in particular why the UK is such a hub. We learn about Zed's journey as a film maker and the evolution of his approach to documenting the craftspeople and skills he documents and shares, the influence of social media on craft, the importance of photography and marketing for craftspeople, the value of developing skills vs buying expensive tools, and a bunch of other little side discussions along the way. Towards the end, Zed shares nuggets of marketing wisdom, which leads to a future episode concept! All around, a really fun and engaging chat with a little bit of something for everyone.

Future Episode Concept

Have any burning marketing or media questions? Want to hear from Zed on them? Send your questions to us and we'll compile them for a topic-focused Q&A episode with Zed in the near future. Send questions to contact@sloydcast.com

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https://www.youtube.com/c/Zedoutdoors

https://zedoutdoors.com/

www.zedtutorials.com

Keep an eye on: www.spoontemplates.com

Mentions from the episode:

Ray Mears

Not Just Bikes

Spoonfest

Werner Fuchs

Sharif Adams

Pro Camera by Moment

Classic Hand Tools

Spoontown UK

Yoav Elkayam

Join us for this engaging chat with Mark Krawczyk—Renaissance man of permaculture, wood craft, and agroforestry. We delve into his journey from college to study permaculture with Bill Mollison in the early 2000’s which eventually lead him to the UK to learn from the likes of Ben Law, Mike Abbott, and back to the states to intern with Drew Langsner. We explore the finer points of greenwood working in the tradition of chair-making, hickory bark harvesting, and seat weaving—then into the principles and practices of coppice agroforestry and his upcoming book Coppice Agroforestry: Tending Trees for Product, Profit, and Woodland Ecology. We finish it off with an insightful discussion on the tenets of managing a woodland from a holistic perspective. All in all, a wonderful chat! Mark is an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience. Enjoy!

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https://www.valleyclayplain.com/

https://www.keylinevermont.com/

http://www.rivenwoodcrafts.com/

Pre-order his book: http://www.coppiceagroforestry.com/

Mentions from the episode:

Helen & Scott Nearing

Ben Law

Ben Law Grand Designs

Mike Abbott

Brookhouse Woods

Harvesting Hickory Bark

Make a Chair from a Tree by Jennie Alexander

Woodlanders Docu-series

Woodlands by Oliver Rackham

Forestry Prism

Eric Sloane

Join us for this chat with the amazingly talented coppice and green woodworker Rosie Rendell. We learn about her journey from gardener to coppice woodworker and the burgeoning businesses she has built since. She gives us a lesson in what coppicing is, what hedgelaying is, and some of the basic principles and practices that define these crafts. We learn about the seasonal flow of her work and get a sense of how deeply connect her work is to the ecosystem, her raw material, and the ancient crafts she is carrying into the future. We top it off discussing her new endeavor producing charcoal and how important this process and product is for closing the loop of a coppice woodworking profession. Last but not least, we flesh out how important it is to remember that these crafts are as much a part of the constellation of sloyd practices as spoon carving or bowl turning. We hope you enjoy this chat!

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https://www.instagram.com/the_coppiced_wood_company/

https://www.instagram.com/wildwoodcharcoal/

Join us for this chat with the multi-talented craftsman Lee Stoffer. We get into Lee’s first introduction to green woodworking and sloyd via the illustrious Mike Abbott, how he went from the pole lathe to spoon carving to tool making and leather work. We learn about how he came to develop his now celebrated spoon scorp. And we also get into the weeds on some of the finer points of being a self employed crafts person, marketing our craft, how social media fits into the life and business of craft, and much more. Lee is passionate about his craft and lifestyle that surrounds it, and shares his knowledge with humility. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we did chatting!

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https://www.instagram.com/stoffercraft

Lee's Youtube

Mentions from the episode:

Mike Abbott

Brookhouse Woods

Svante Djarv

David Fisher’s bowl horse

Nic Westermann

River & Journey Knives

Paul Adamson

Magnus Sundelin

Wayne Barton

Sean Hellman

Zed Outdoors

Jill Swan

Martin Damon

Werner Fuchs