I’m an amateur woodworker and a very amateur (fine, almost not a) hand-tool user, but I attended Handworks and it was great.
Handworks is woodworking event/gathering and was billed as
join modern woodworking hand tool makers and fellow enthusiasts for a weekend immersion in all things handwork. Unplug from the world of machines, dust and noise while listening to the crisp sounds of the hand plane, chisel and saw in a restored timber-frame dairy barn in the traditional, historic German village of Amana.
I can attest that it was exactly that and I just realized that there was no sounds of loud woodworking power tools, which is nice. Here are a few photos and thoughts…
The quality of the tools that the craftspeople made was phenomenal. It was very clear that the indie makers were there for the love of the game. I loved that everyone was friendly and wanting to chat with anyone stopping by and not in a sales-y way. There was a lot of hands on demonstration and encouragement from the makers to pick up and interact with the tools. It is very clear that they are proud of what they made and want others to experience joy in using the tools.
It was cool to see that there were new tools as well as old tools that were restored. There were definitely old tools that were geared towards collectors but most of them were well loved and restored tools that were looking for a new home. Side note: I did see a Union no. 1 0XA hand plane that was on sale for $4500!!!
The event was across three locations that are within a short walk and it is a very cute town BUT it was very hot and humid (feels like temperature of 95F/35C).
The main barn was absolutely packed, didn’t spend too much time in there with the sea of sweaty bodies 🤢 (mine being chief among them).
That is also where the more commercial entities were so it was less interesting to me. BUT, the Veritas booth had their miniature series, which are fully functional and 100% adorable!
While these are beautiful tools I think the indie maker tools are just works of art. Look at these tools made in Australia by HNT Gordon (pretty sure).
Soooo… I got some really cool tools. I got a marking knife made from snakewood by Person Make Object, a saddle square made from buckeye burl and brass by Hillview Metal&Wood, and a ryoba saw. My friend also got a few things as well, here’s our haul:
I did not know that saddle square is a tool that existed but it is absolutely a tool I could have used a lot. Saddle squares let you mark a line on both adjacent (orthogonal) faces at the same time (or transfer your mark from one to the other). I struggle a lot transferring a measurement from one face to the next, especially if I need to take it to the opposite face, this will be a great help!
Amana Colonies have their own forestry service who sustainably manages the land and supplies their furniture making operation and lumber sales. They have a little show room attached to their workshop where skilled craftspeople make beautiful furniture. I wish I had taken some photos inside but look at the size of these Sycamore slabs
I got a slab of walnut with the intent of making it a top of a coffee table. I’m very happy with the find, the figure is beautiful bacony figure 🥓 and will absolutely pop when finished.
The stack of boards also turned out excellent with only one board being less than desirable. A total surprise on the wide boards being sequential and can be used as a book-match! I bought these to mill up legs for the table but now I want to use the wide boards as a bookmatched table top, look at the 👀🦉
I don’t mean to cause envy but it’s unavoidable for anyone aware of walnut prices… this 58"x18"x1¾" (145 x 45 x 4 cm) slab was $160 (USD). The bundle of boards all together roughly measuring 44" x 30" x 1" (110 x 75 x 2.5 cm) was $50 (USD).
It was a great trip with quality time with my good friend, excellent food, and cool people doing amazing work. Despite the oppressive heat, I would totally do it again and hope it was like 2023 weather wise when we walked around the explored the town.
A version of this post was shared as a thread on the Fediverse/Mastodon, feel free to comment there and share your experience.