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Most woodworkers own a leather strop, but few understand what it actually does. This article explores the history of the strop, explains the science behind stropping, separates common myths from fact, and shows why proper technique matters just as much as the strop itself.

Understanding the Leather Strop

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A recent poll may have had a low response rate, but what it revealed was far more important. It showed me that behind the numbers are real people who have been following my work for years, even if many choose to remain silent.

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A Question for My Readers About My New Video Format

A quick note about the AI character used in my videos Recently I introduced an AI generated character to present some of my videos. The scripts, ideas, research, and woodworking knowledge behind those videos are still my own and will always be my own. The character was simply a way of presenting my written work without appearing on camera. I have received a small amount of feedback from some…

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A properly fitted hammer handle is held in place by mechanical force, not adhesive. Here's why the wedge still beats glue, and always has.

Why a Hammer Head Doesn't Need Glue

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For years I believed that if you made something with enough care, honesty and skill, people would eventually flock to it. It would command a high price, your reputation as a craftsman would be highly valued. That was the old way. A craftsman would build something beautiful, show it to people, build a reputation, and over time customers would appear.

The Invisible Craftsman

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I was looking for videos on YT on how to film woodworking videos. I'm curious how they get all those close up angle shots without themselves or their hands being in the way. As always on YT I get everything else, but what I want.

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The Blunt Chisel TrickWhy Woodworkers Dull Their Chisels on PurposeThe Blunt Chisel Trick

There are a few well known tricks in woodworking, such as using a deliberately blunt chisel as a scraper, using a slightly dulled chisel for hinge mortises to reduce tear out, the old cabinetmaker’s trick of burnishing end grain with the back of a chisel, and various tricks popularised by people like Paul Sellers and Rex Krueger. But the one I’m particularly thinking of is one nobody really…

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What I make is for others, but how I make it is for me.

Why I Got Rid of My Machines

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Over the last week or so I’ve had a couple of people question me over the new Lost Scrolls of Handwork logo. Some were disappointed that I used AI to create it while others immediately assumed that meant I was about to start making fully AI generated podcasts and content. So let me explain where I actually stand on all this.

So Apparently I Sold My Soul To AI Over A Logo

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“Creating the characters for YouTube has easily been the most difficult part of producing the podcast. I underestimated just how challenging lip syncing and animation would be, but the tenacity and perseverance that hand tool woodworking teaches you kept me pushing forward. Despite the setbacks, I’m genuinely excited about this project. I haven’t really come across a podcast dedicated specifically to hand tool woodworking, so I hope this becomes a positive and informative addition for those who love the craft.

Podcast Update

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Journeyman’s Journal has always been the ongoing record of work at the bench—notes, reflections, and lessons gathered over more than thirty years of hand tool woodworking, and still continuing. Some of you will remember The Lost Scrolls of Handwork. That name belonged to a magazine we ran alongside the work, carrying forward the same philosophy: sharing knowledge gained over time spent at the bench. The magazine eventually came to an end, but the idea behind it never disappeared. Now, The Lost Scrolls of Handwork returns—not as a magazine, but as a broader extension of the work at the bench.

The Return of The Lost Scrolls of Handwork

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I have read many books on saw sharpening and watched various videos on the subject, and most of them tend to repeat the same information. However, the Spear & Jackson handbook goes that little extra mile by elaborating on certain points. For example, when topping (jointing) the teeth, it recommends doing the work in stages: make a pass, file the teeth, then joint again, repeating the process until all the teeth are of uniform height.

Spear and Jackson Concerning Handsaws

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Timothy Rousseau is a Maine-based furniture maker and woodworking instructor recognized for his finely crafted, functional furniture designs. Working from his studio in Rockport, he combines traditional craftsmanship with clean, contemporary forms and has become a leading figure in the American studio furniture movement.

How to Tune a Mortise Gauge with Tim Rousseau

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There is a flow to it, something almost musical. He is not fighting the material, and he is not forcing the outcome. He is guiding it. That is where the romance sits. He works with the material, listening to the wood as it speaks to him, working in harmony with nature rather than against it.

A Better Kind of Woodworking Channel

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That’s absolutely true. Sharp tools should always be the starting point, and relying on force to compensate for dull edges is poor practice.

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What type of files and to correctly use them

This is a very old video and one of the most in depth I have seen to date. As always, there is a lot of misinformation online, along with sloppy use of tools, especially hand tools. Much of this comes from people who present themselves as teachers but simply make things up as they go. This is why it is always best to source information from books or other credible sources, preferably older books…

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Incredible Saw Making Techniques

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