Our First Workshop — Carving with Wayne

This August, Cobble opened its doors for its very first workshop. Five guests came in off the street and into the shop, and for one afternoon the bench that usually holds our own work belonged to them instead.

Wayne led the session, starting everyone at the same point we all start: how to hold a carving knife, how to read the grain before the first cut, how to let the blade follow the wood instead of forcing it. Basic tools, used slowly and correctly, teach more in an hour than most people expect.

The project was a handcarved book — a small block worked down, gouge by gouge, until pages appeared where there had only been a solid piece of maple. No two came out the same. Each guest left with a small object that remembered exactly how they had held the knife.

By late afternoon the studio was covered in shavings and five people were comparing covers, still holding their carving knives. It was the kind of mess we hope to make again — this was only the first of what we intend to be many workshops.