ahardslojdlife

2012-01-28T12:36:00.000-08:00

I have been doing a lot of flytying lately. It is really relaxing and a good way to wind down. Here are some flies I have tied recently and I have taken the photos from below while they float in a glass bowl filled with water. I thought that would be an interesting way to look at them.

Red Quill, one of my favourites.

Red spinner spent wing.

May Fly imitation spent wing.

A new blade for my carving knife.

2012-01-25T02:08:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I broke the blade on my carvingknife during a trip to the forest. When I got home I decided to put in a new blade, like it was common to do on old knives. As I started to drill out the riveted blade I tried to remember if I had used any epoxy when I put it together. But the parts came off nicely.

I have never had to change the blade on a knife before. The work gave many interesting thoughts about the old school craft. When I started to make my knives more and more in a traditional way I have discovered that all the parts have their function in the design. It is not just decoration like some people seem to think.

Obviously it is very practical, once you break the blade, to have a full tange. And the fittings are a part of that design.

But another example is the sheath. It is very hard to make a good, tight sheath if you have a leather that is tanned all the way through. Like the kind of leather that you use in shoes. I think that they often made their leather at home a few hundred years ago. And I don´t think they used the special leather with the raw hide still left in the middle in the same degree that knifemakers do today. So you need at least one fitting at the top of the sheath. If you also have the fittings at the bottom and the sides, the sheath is much more stable.

The disassembled knife with the new blade att the bottom.

I can see why the blade broke. There was a crack in the metal.

The knife with the new blade. I could not use the blade shown in the first picture after all, but had to go for this instead. A laminated blade by Mattias Styrefors.

"Royal Coachman"

2011-10-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

These are three "Royal Coachman" that I tied from feathers that were clamped in the radiator of our car one day when my girlfriend had been out driving. Part of a wing and a foot sat there too, so it was not a very nice job to get those feathers, but I take my flytying material wherever I can find it. I also have a squirrel- and foxtail that I have taken from roadkills I have passed.

The Royal Coachman is a classic fly, and very good in the river Ljusnan where I fish. The fishing season is over for this year. I guess the flytying season begins...

Flyfishing

2011-10-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

This summer has been a lot about flyfishing for me. One of the last days that fishing was allowed in Ljusnan, I made this trip.

Making wooden threads video.

2011-05-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

One more candlestick.

2011-04-01T04:36:00.000-07:00

Two photos of my candlestick with new painting.

Wooden threads/trägängor.

2011-02-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

Today I had to adjust the tool with which I make the wooden threads for my candlesticks.
It is important that the arm with the candleholders is easy to turn, but it tends to be too tight.
I thought if I made the (outer) threads deeper it would be allright.
But instead of starting to adjust the old tool (the tool is quite rare and it is hard to find both pieces of this tool) I made a new piece for making the outer threads. I adjusted the iron, and changed the angle too, so it was more aggressive and cut deeper.

This is also how you make an entirely new piece for cutting the outer threads if you happen to find an old tool for making the internal threads. It is harder to go the other way around. If I find an old tool for making the outer threads, at an auction or in an antique shop, I leave it. Because it is useless without the other piece.

Idag justerade jag verktyget ("snedtyg") som jag gör trägängorna till mina ljusstakar med. Det är viktigt att armen med ljushållarna går lätt att snurra. De har emellertid haft tendens att sitta för hårt. Så jag tänkte att om jag gör de yttre gängorna djupare borde det fixa till sig. Men då det är lite svårt och ovanligt att man hittar ett komplett sådant här verktyg (båda delarna) så ville jag inte ge mig på att ändra och karva i det. Jag gjorde istället en ny del för att skära de yttre gängorna.

Jag justerade sedan stålet så att det tar för sig mer, sedan var jag tvungen att ändra vinkeln lite som framgår av bilderna så det blev lite aggressivare.

På samma sätt går det till att göra en helt ny del att skära de yttre gängorna med, om man skulle hitta delen som skär de inre gängorna på loppis eller auktion. Det är svårare att göra på motsatt sätt; delen som skär de yttre gängorna är tämligen värdelös utan den andra delen.

Planes for making windows

2011-02-18T00:25:00.000-08:00

Showing my planes for making windows. Interesting tools. Old planes for windows have three different blades. When I made my own I made it with just one blade. The difficulty with that is that it is very problematic to shape the blade, the sharp corners that you get in the blade. But there are old planes for windows with just one blade. I happen to have one. There is no difference when you work with a tool if it is made with one or three blades.

A new window for my workshop.

Candlesticks

2011-02-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

I have designed a new arm and foot for my carved candlestick. It will soon appear in my webshop.

Using inshaves to cut troughs.

2011-01-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

I have been cutting some troughs that I shaped roughly this fall and put to dry. I am making a trough that will be used to wash butter in, so I wanted to make a real big trough. My favorite tool for cutting the inside of troughs is different types of inshaves. I also use gouges, for example Pfeill, but to a small degree. The disadvantage of using inshaves instead of gouges is that you can not use your bodyweight when you cut, because you don´t use the tool to cut away from you. But when you get over that discouragement, they are a joy to work with thanks to the long edge you get. It quickly cuts a surface with fine broad facets without getting any scratches, like you easily get by using a flat gouge. The inshaves I use are both new blades from Svante Djärv and Hans Karlsson and older tools that I bought at flea markets and eBay.

To the left is a blade made by Svante Djärv and next to that two old tools that I had to make new handles for.

Porch.

2010-12-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

I finally took the time to take care of some pictures. This is from a job I did this summer. It is a piece for a porch at an old house in Sillerbo, Ljusdal. I got the chance to use a very special mouldingplane for this job. These kind of mouldings are very common as ornaments on old woodwork, doors, furniture etc. around here.

Sparrbila

2010-11-29T15:35:00.000-08:00

Jag jobbar just nu med projektet Konst/Hemslöjd. Ett projekt för att skapa offentlig utsmyckning i vårdmiljö. Landstinget i Stockholm driver projektet där hemslöjd och konst möts. Jag arbetar tillsammans med Folkform. För vår del kommer projektet att handla en del om ursprungliga ytor.
Jag har börjat undersöka huggna, bilade ytor i slöjdföremål.
I hälsingland har man bilat sparrar ända fram till en långt in på 1900-talet. Sparrarna bilades med yxa och exporterades till bland annat Egypten. De bilade sparrarna tullades inte som sågat virke, vilket tydligen var grejjen. Jag har varit intresserad av detta länge och i sommras fick jag tag på en fin sparrbila på auktion. I detta projekt kunde den komma till användning.

Sparrbilan är en Urafors, eggen är 33 centimeter lång och saxslipad, yxhuvudet är helt plant på ena sidan, likaså eggen. Sparrbilan visade sig vara suverän att jobba med. Girig som en bankdirektör. Saxslipningen gör att yxan trycks in i träet, istället för att vilja gå ur, som en normal bila. Bilan visar inte en tillstymmelse till att vilja stöta. När man hugger längs en snörslagen linje så vill den hela tiden ta för sig mer och gå innanför linjen, tvärt emot vad jag är van vid.

I am currently working with the project Konst/Hemslöjd (Art/Craft). A project to create public decoration in the healthcare environment. County Council of Stockholm runs the project in which crafts and art meet. I work together with Folkform. For our part, the project will involve original surfaces. I have begun to examine hewn surfaces in craft objects. In Hälsingland they have made hewn beams as late as well into the 1900s. The beams where hewn and exported to for example Egypt. The customs on hewn beams were not the same as sawn timber, which was apparently the thing. I've been interested in this for a long time and this summer I got hold of a nice axe for beams at an auction. It can be of use in this project. The axe is a Urafors, the edge is 33 centimetres long and the edge is shaped like on a scissors, flat on one side. The axe proved to be excellent to work with. Greedy as a bank director.

Update: here are two pictures showing the log after I have shaped three sides. I didn´t bother to take off the bark, so the chalkline was very vague when I cut the beam.

Working on an ald house.

2010-11-26T02:19:00.000-08:00

I have been working for Gamla Trähus, a company that have specialized in repairing old timberhouses, for the last months. That is why nothing has happened on the blog. The last seven weeks I have been in Härnösand, repairing an old house at Murberget open air museum. They wrote an article about it on their webpage. The text is in swedish. Try the google translate, maybe you will at least get a good laugh!

http://www.ylm.se/om-museet/press/artiklar/kokhuset-tar-form-paa-nytt

Scythe

2010-08-14T01:52:00.000-07:00

It is summer, and time to mow all the high grass around the house. A couple of years ago I made my own scythe. It is really inspiring to be able to make something so useful and custom-make it to suit yourself. It is satisfying to feel how good it works.

I have used the scythe for 3-4 years now but the details are still not finished!

Blade by Mattias Helje.

It takes a while to learn to mow with a scythe. I had the opportunity to get some good advice on how to adjust the blade etc., and also how to mow, by Janne Eliasson from Fågelsjö. Janne got his first scythe when he was 7 years old and has made several scythes for himself. He has great skills and knowledge about traditional woodworking. Always generous in everything he does. So a big thanks to him!

Sometimes when you are mowing grass with a scythe you find a mouse nest hidden under all the tall grass. They are cute while they are small, sleeping so peacefully together.

Making a mouldingplane

2010-08-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

I have written about mouldingplanes before in this blog. It is definately one of my favourite tools. A while back I made a mouldingplane to make new doormouldings for an old house. I took some pictures to show the process.

I looked at an old plane and copied the angles for the blade.

Then roughed out the opening.

This is how the blade goes.

Be carefull to drill those holes straight.

The blade and the wedge is fitted.

A kind of primitive way to copy the profile. But it works.

I start shaping the profile of the plane.

I cut it with different types of gouges.

The plane with the blade I am using. Now I can draw the profile on the blade.

I use a Dremel, files, sandpaper and wetstones to shape the blade. I can also use a grindstone, but it is easily wasted.
You can see the difference between the actual profile and the blade.

It is important that the blade follow the profile of the plane properly. If you have an old mouldingplane that you want to use, this is the first thing you should check.

The plane is ready to use.

To the right is the old doormoulding. To the left is the testpiece made with the new plane.

Thanks Joe!

2010-07-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you Joe for the great book about making your own fly rod! It would be a dream to build a fly rod of my own. You have planted a little idea now...
It was really great to hear from you and I appreciate it a lot! I hope you have a great time at Country Workshops. And I know you will. Jögge Sundqvist is a really inspiring guy!

Best regards / Niklas

Class, working in birchbark.

2010-06-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

On the 18,19 and 20 june I will be having a class in working with birchbark in Fågelsjö, a village in the Orsa Finnmark. The class is held every year, unless there are not enough participants. Fågelsjö is a beautiful and inspiring place for working with birchbark. With its history as a settlement for finnish immigrants the old folkmuseum has great objects made from birchbark. The technique we will mainly work with is sewing together whole pieces of birchbark with birchroot (flaknäver). The birchbark can be taken nearby when the sap is rising. Hence the time for the class to be held: the weekend before midsummer.
There are still places open.

Go here to sign up for the class or get more info about Fågelsjö:
http://www.fagelsjo.nu/kurser.html
all contactinformation etc is available in english and deutsch.

Flyfishing in Ljusnan.

2010-06-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

Last night, me and Anders Bekkos, flyfishing in the river Ljusnan.
Photos by Niklas Karlsson.
Anders Bekkos in his waders, catching a greyling.

Testpilots for Canon EOS 550 D

2010-05-29T03:25:00.000-07:00

Since one of the lenses on my camera have broke, the autofocus is out of function, I´m betting it all on becomming a testpilot for the new Canon EOS 550 D at smartson.se. Me and Nathan, my Myspacebuddy from Tennessee is teaming up. You can sign up for the job too you know!

http://www.smartson.se/testpilot-550D.html

If we are picked there will be lots of photos coming up here. The flyfishing season is starting now in the river Ljusnan! And around midsummer I will have a class in making birchbarkboxes in beautiful Fågelsjö again. So keep your fingers crossed for us!

2010-05-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

Här är en artikel om min farmor. Klicka på bilderna så öppnas de i sina ursprungliga storlekar.

Shelf with drawer

2010-05-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

Shelf with drawer.
Made by Niklas karlsson.

Shelf

2010-04-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

Shelf by Niklas Karlsson.
Carved and planed by hand. Linseedoil paint.

Candlesticks

2010-02-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

Candlesticks by Niklas Karlsson. Carved of birch and pine. Height 29 centimeters.

Webshop

2010-02-24T14:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a cold winter. For two months the cold has not let go once. A couple of mornings it has been below -30 (celsius) again now and I have a car battery on charge tonight that I will put in before I take the kids to kindergarten tomorrow morning.
During the day it is nice, but I've been working in my workshop. So tonight I felt trapped and took a walk though it was -25 degrees outside. It was moonlight and starry and bright and beautiful. I ended up taking a shortcut across the fields on my way home. Pulsating thru the powdersnow I got up the heat and laid down in the middle of the field and actually felt really warm and comfortable. Then I walked the last bit home and sat for a while in the log hut that I have been working on sporadic. I can`t wait until it is finished, but tonight it felt almost like a shame to cover the walls.

Today I started my webshop where I sell my horses and shoe rack. I will fill up with clotheshangers etc. in a while. The address is ahardslojdlife.jetshopfree.com. I don´t have that many things in stock, so tomorrow I'll take a tour and take material for shoe racks. I decided that when I was lying there in the snow.

Birchbarkboxes.

2010-02-01T04:41:00.000-08:00

Boxes by Niklas Karlsson

I had the benefit to meet the folkartist and master at sloyd Nils Blixt from Vallsta in Hälsingland while he was alive. He was particularly known for his birchbarkboxes and he had his strong feel about how a birchbarkbox should be made. First of all the two layers of birchbark should not be glued together, but instead stitched with root at the top. The glue kills the material.
Nils Blixt also hated when the joint of the box is cut with a (straight) chisel (after a carefully measured drawing).Those joints would give an aggressive impression. The joint should be cut with a knife, which allows you to take into account the quality of the material and particularly the "eyes" in the birchbark, which are a weak part of the material. The lid would often have a rim to prevent it from widening the box with time and the bottom was pushed in an extra millimeter to give the box a smooth feel against the underlay. It will not stand on the actual wooden bottom, but on the soft edge of the birchbark.

Boxes by Nils Blixt, Vallsta.

When I make my own birchbarkboxes I am inspired by Nils Blixt` ideas. He in his turn was inspired by "Näverjollen" and in that way the boxes becomes part of a tradition of birchbarkboxes. I say that without making any other parable with Nils Blixt. He was a genuine folkartist, each and every one of his boxes was a part of his own mythology and imagination that was truly unique. I have the deepest admiration for him.

Left: woman taking birchbark at a class in Fågelsjö. Right: in the making of a box.

Root and birchbark

Left: old box Right: box with tea by Niklas Karlsson

by
Niklas Karlsson

på svenska:

Jag hade förmånen att träffa slöjdaren Nils Blixt från Vallsta medan han levde. Han var särskilt känd för sina näverburkar och han hade sin bestämda uppfattning om hur en näverburk skulle tillverkas. Ett krav var att en näverburk inte fick limmas utan den skulle istället sys med en rotsöm längst upp. Limmet dödar materialet.
Nils Blixt avskydde också när burkarnas tampor skärs med ett stämjärn (efter en noga uppmätt mall). Sömmen blir då aggresiv. Tamporna skulle skäras ut med kniv, vilket också tillåter att man tar hänsyn till hur materialet ser ut och särskilt då att undvika "ögonen" som är en svag del i materialet. Locket hade med få undantag en fals för att inte tränga ut näverburken med tiden och bottnen trycktes in någon millimeter extra så att burken fick en mjuk känsla mot underlaget, då den inte stod på själva träbotten utan på den mjuka näverkanten.

När jag gör mina egna näverburkar inspireras jag av det som Nils Blixt förespråkade. Han har i sin tur hämtat sin inspiration från Näverjollen och burkarna ingår på så sätt i en tradition av näverslöjd, utan att jag för den skull gör någon övrig liknelse med Nils burkar. Han var en folkkonstnär, som gjorde näverburkar som var och en i sig bar Nils egen mytologi och föreställningsvärld som var unik. Jag har en stor beundran för honom.

Wallshelf for plates

2009-12-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

Wallshelf for plates, gustavian style. Made of old panels. 1200x960 mm. Handplaned with profiles. Painted with linseedoil paint. By Niklas Karlsson.
Carved troughs and shoerack by Niklas Karlsson.

Ulrika Olsson Keramik - Inspiration: Årets julklapp eller Especially for you eller Jultävling

2009-12-06T16:53:00.000-08:00

Är du rädd att inte få några klappar i år? På den här väldigt sympatiska och - hur ska jag säga - stilfulla bloggen kan du vinna två keramikkoppar i julklapp. Lämna bara en kommentar på inlägget för att vara med i utlottningen. Bloggen är en av mina favoriter. Det är en blandning av keramik (hon är keramiker), vintage, slöjd, byggnadsvård, kläder (men inte på det där trendkänsligt ängsliga sättet) mm.

Ulrika Olsson Keramik - Inspiration: Årets julklapp eller Especially for you eller Jultävling

Carved horse

2009-12-01T11:41:00.001-08:00

Carved horse: pine, painted with linseedoil paint.
By Niklas Karlsson.

Linseedoil paint

2009-11-20T06:13:00.000-08:00

Old stone for making linseedoil paint

I get a lot of questions about paint. And it is a difficult area. It is harder to judge the quality on paint than it is, say, a blank for a spoon, burls or birchbark. Maybe that is why it feels more difficult. For me, the finish has been a source of worry. I thought I got most things right, except for that part. Until I started to make the paint myself from scratch. Because it has a lot to do with the quality of the paint if the work gets good of not. And by that I mean the quality of the oil and of the pigment. Since I exclusively use linseedoil paint.

A good linseedoil paint, according to me, is one that covers good (not so many coats), dries fast, and gives a smooth subdued finish. When you make the paint yourself you put a lot of pigment in the paint which gives the paint these qualities. The more pigment makes the paint less fat, you see.

The procedure is that I grind the pigment with oil with a flat stone on a marbleplate. Doing this I get a thick paste of pigment and oil. The longer you grind the paste the looser it gets so that you can add more and more pigment as you go. You can almost feel the grains of pigment getting smaller and smaller and the oil working its way in to cover every separate grain. When you have done this you dilute the paste with some oil until the paint is just right.

For a while I made all my paint this way but now I also use Ottossons linseedoil paint, which I buy from Annacarin in Järvsö. I get my pigment from Kulturarvet in Östersund and my oil from Färgriket, on the internet.

Färg

Jag får många frågor om (linolje) färg. Och det är ett svårt kapitel. Det är svårare att bedöma kvaliteten på färg än på tex skedämnen vrilar och näver. Kanske är det därför som man tycker färg är svårt. För min del har ytbehandling varit lite av en frustration. Jag fick till det mesta tyckte jag, utom den biten. Tills jag började att göra färgen själv från grunden, för det har mycket att göra med kvaliteten på färgen om det blir bra eller inte. Och då menar jag kvaliteten på oljan och på pigmentet. Jag använder nämligen uteslutande linoljefärg.

En bra linoljefärg är enligt mig bra täckande, torkar snabbt och ger en slät och jämn matt yta. När du gör färgen själv får du i mycket pigment i färgen vilket gör att den får dessa egenskaper. Pigmentet gör nämligen att färgen blir mager.

Rent praktiskt gör jag så att jag river ihop linolja och pigment på en marmorskiva med en sten som löpare. Jag får då en tjock pasta. Ju längre man river pastan desto lösare blir den emellertid och man kan hela tiden ha i mer och mer pigment vartefter man river ihop pigmentet och oljan. Ja, man kan nästan känna hur pigmentkornen blir mindre och mindre och hur oljan arbetas in och omsluter varje enskilt pigment. Sedan späder man ut pastan med olja till en lämplig strykbar färg.

Ett tag gjorde jag all färg på det här sättet, men numera använder jag också Ottossons färdiga linoljefärg som jag köper hos Annacarin i Järvsö. Pigment handlar jag hos Kulturarvet i Östersund och olja från Färgriket, på nätet.

My building preservation at Halfway Hill.

2009-10-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is the old outhouse, at the place we bought three years ago, that is slowly turning into my new workshop. I have lifted the whole outhouse 30-40 centimetres and replaced 3 of the timberlogs and repaired one log. The building has also been straightened up and got new panels and partly new roof.

This summer, after I had put a floor in, i could inaugurate the workshop by making the bottom frame for a porch for an old farmhouse. Which made me realize that this workshop is way too small. So I will have to turn the entire outhouse into a workshop, and not just a part of it. The first part of the workshop is planned to be finished this winter/spring .

My friend Anders Assis, who owns the old farmhouse, put the frame into place and has made the stair.

Shelf by Niklas Karlsson

2009-09-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Shelf made of pine. Carved and handplaned from recycled pine panel from an outhouse. Painted with linseed oil paint.
Carved wooden horse, birchbark box, case made of pineburl by Niklas Karlsson

Carved horse

2009-09-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

Carved horse by Niklas Karlsson
Painted with linseedoil

Waterfromawell

2009-09-02T03:03:00.001-07:00

Waterfromawell, originally uploaded by NiklasKarlsson.

Wooden cup by Niklas Karlsson. ahardslojdlife environmental pages.

Wooden cups by Niklas Karlsson

2009-08-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

Carving wooden horse

2009-08-22T02:55:00.000-07:00

Blank for carving wooden horse.
Pine from old timber.
Bandsawn and cut with axe.
By Niklas Karlsson

not so white anymore

2009-08-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

From the new issue of Sköna hem.
Beautiful photos without all those white walls.

I always thought the white was kind of easy. Like: "paint all the walls white and anything will fit". /Niklas

Nordlöw Axe

2009-08-20T12:50:00.001-07:00

Nordlow, originally uploaded by NiklasKarlsson.

Broad axe made by Nordlöw, Tallåsen, Sweden. "One of my favourites".

High heels made of timber

2009-07-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

På lördagen avtäckte jag, på Stenegård i Järvsö, tillsammans med Lill-babs och trädgårdsmästare Maria Bremefors en blomsterformation i form av en av Lill-babs mer kända klänningar. Till den har jag gjort ett par högklackade skor i skala 3:1, huggna ur en timmerstock.
http://www.stenegard.com/news/news.asp?nid=56

This weekend I unveiled a flowerbed at Stenegård in Järvsö, together with the artist Lill-babs and gardener Maria Bremefors. The flowerbed has the shape of one of Lill-babs famous dresses. For the flowerbed I have made a pair of high heels. They are made of timber on a scale of 3:1.

/Niklas

The river Ljusnan

2009-07-10T15:34:00.001-07:00

Swedish summer by the river Ljusnan 2009.

Slöjdtankar

2009-07-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Läs min krönika på www.pagang.nu/kronika

/Niklas

RAKE

2009-06-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

Färila 2009
Wooden rake by Niklas Karlsson
Material: Spruce, birch and rowan.
Linseedoil.

Shoerack

2009-05-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

ahardslojdlife Preview: handcarved shoerack by Niklas Karlsson
Material: Birch
Beakbootie from Kero. Chip basket by Säs Holger Andersson, Våmhus. Shoehay and twig broom by Niklas Karlsson.

"And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and its rider had a balance in his hand"

2009-04-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

ahardslojdlife showroom in Färila. 2009
Handcarved by Niklas Karlsson.

Shelf: pine and brass, boatnails from Mustadfors.

Horses: pine.

Painted with linseedoil.

2009-03-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

I´m working on a "collection" right now, it is ment to fit into the context of those who like the country living lifestyle. The inspiration comes, as always, from the farmhouses of Hälsingland where I live and from the settlers and small scale farmers of Lapland, where I spent my vacations as a kid.

The first product of this collection was the clothes hanger "Kallfarstun". "Kallfarstun" is common in old houses and can be described as an uninsulated hall - where you often find a carved clothes hanger. This type of clothes hanger can also be found in attics or outhouses where they were used to store things like wintergarments, bags, aprons and workwear, baskets, fishnets etc. Anything you could hang on its handcarved pegs.

I have also designed a shoerack for this collection. It is carved by hand, made of young birches that has grown cramped together in a dense forest. The thin birches are plugged into the sidepieces. Very traditional assembly though the design has no original. It is inspired by different kinds of stands that has been used in a kind of self-sufficient coherence.

This horse is also part of the collection. I have wanted to make a horse of my own for a long time. I love the antique wooden horses from the 1800. The horses that are made now have a modern, kitchy design that has come a long way from the original wooden horses. They are painted with linseedoil.

The shoe rack and clothes hanger can be bought at Svensk Slöjd, Nybrogatan, Stockholm. The collection will soon be able to order online.

Tidningen Åter

2008-11-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

I nya numret av tidningen Åter har jag och Göran Posthuma skrivit om tjäckelyxan och hur man använder den för att hugga tråg.

Du kan köpa tidningen här
Du kan också se tråghuggningen på slojdeniskogen.se

2008-11-05T14:09:00.000-08:00

Here is the new official site ahardslojdlife.com! It will be a more changeable site. That is the intention. I have had this yearning sometimes to just publish out of a whim - texts, stories, photos etc. I have had so much material to show about what I do, about what I call "traditional use of wood". And now I will be able to! So welcome to my blog! Now it´s online and where it should be, on ahardslojdlife.com. There are some small things that have to fall in place, but on the whole - this is it. Now you can comment on what I show on the site and I might just do whatever I want - it will all just fall into a chronological order. Easy enough! The "old" site will still be accessible, the link will come up soon. I have updated my videos on Youtube.com with some old videos that were in div-x. I think they will be easier to watch now. The channel is called - ahardslojdlife.

/Niklas Karlsson