Join the woodcraft adventer: made with real hands & traditional hand tools.

Journey of Craftsmanship

Knotty Woodpecker is about creating local woodcrafts with saws, planes & chisel, turning logs to hand-carved bowls, and local lumber into fine furniture. Join the adventure and watch it all come together.  Many handmade pieces will be available for purchase.

Everything is handmade with traditional hand tools: saws, planes and chisels. Creating without powertools keeps the tradition of truly “feeling” what it’s like to shape the wood.

These materials work together like it was meant to be: solid woods, handmade hardware, traditional glues, and oil finishes.

join the adventure

Sign up for the newsletter to follow along:

  1. Behind the scenes of works in progress
  2. Notifications of woodcrafts & fine furniture available for purchase
  3. First opportunity to reserve projects “in the making”

About the craftsman

Sean Archer

DESIGNER & CRAFTSMAN

I’m the woodcraftsman with an obsession for using hand tools.

It started with the desire to create something I could feel with my hands.

The result is Knotty Woodpecker, with amazing wood finishes & textures you only get with hand planes and chisels.

Join the adventure and follow along.

Contact Me

HANDMADE FURNITURE

Designing & building furniture with premium finish & joinery is what I enjoy most.  It is the greatest challenge and achievement.

Latest Obsession: Ming Dynasty Influence

Made for Emperors, Ming furniture is known for exquisit craftsmanship during 1300-1600s.  This style merges Ming influence into my past works, offering an enlightened perspective on style, quality and minimalism.  

Made with solid American Cherry wood & top-tier joinery design.

Furniture Order

For interests in made-to-order, handmade furniture, please get in touch to get started.

How it Works

1  Start by discussing your needs

2  We design the perfect piece for you

3  Make a deposit to start the project

4  Watch the process, handmade from scratch

Request Handmade Furniture

Furniture Gallery

Past projects for interest or inspiration.

Decorative Bowls

It's called Green Woodworking

Starting with a fresh cut log, cut away until there’s nothing left but a gorgeous, hand-carved bowl. I call these Decorative Bowls, but they are also durable and food-safe! 

Bowl carving is actually quite time consuming, but there’s something about this work that makes the time fly by.  It’s like meditation for wood carvers.

Examples shown here are made from locally grown Black Walnut, Ash, and Spalted Birch.

 

It starts with a log, cut down to bowl-shape after hours of chopping.

Followed by 4-6 weeks for the fresh bowl to dry.

After a successfly drying period, the bowl is re-carved to a fine, textured finish.

And finally, oil, wax and resin applied to complete the look.

Donate Wood

These logs can’t be purchased from the store.  If you have available logs that are still freshly cut, and too big to wrap your arms around, please get in touch via the Donate Page. 

Pre-Order

Pre-order your hand-carved bowl to get started.

Build updates will be shared with you so you can follow along.

How it Works

1  Send an order request

2  Receive pricing and pay a deposit

3  Watch the carving process

Refundable Deposit

We don’t know what the bowl will look like until it is complete,

And I want you to be super happy with your purchase.

Either request a refund, or we can try again.

Pre-Order Bowls

CHARCUTERIE BOARDS

& Cutting Boards

The unique features of Knotty Woodpecker cutting boards:

The Finish

The smooth finish is made with finely-tuned hand planes & scrapers.  Sand paper is used sparingly.  The result is a burnished, ultra-smooth finish that feels entirely different from “plastic” finishes like Epoxy and Polyurethane. 

The Build

These boards are made from a single piece of Cherry wood.  No glue-ups to fall apart or catch food scraps.  The widest boards are saved to make single-piece boards up to 10 inches wide or 2 inches thick.

The Details

Though the grain and finish speak loud enough, I like to add a touch of hand-carved detail on the face or sides for a touch of Knotty Woodpecker character.

Pre-Order

Pre-order a Charcuterie Board or Cutting Board to get started.

Build updates will be shared with you so you can follow along.

How it Works

1  Send an order request

2  Pay the invoice

3  Watch the making process

Pre-Order Boards

DISCOVER NATURAL OILS

I prefer natural materials on my hands, instead of the unknown materials in commercial blends.

These are safe, effective, and easy to use.  I make them for me, but I hope you enjoy using them too!

natural cutting board oil

Buy on Etsy

I call this wood finish, but it’s much more!

Personally, I use it for cutting boards, charcuterie boards, furniture restoration & touch-ups, and seasoning cast-iron & steel pans.

Made with flax oil (from the grocery store) and local beeswax (from the bees!).

The problem with “butcherblock oil” is it’s usually made with mineral oil (a petroleum product), and it never dries.  Mineral oil soaks into everything including the cutting board, our food, and our skin (probably not healthy).

Flax oil is much healthier, and it will slowly dry to a semi-hard film to protect the wood (after it soaks in a little).  The beeswax offers further protection from obsorbing water and bacteria.

Apply in thin layers to “wet” the wood, and remove excess.  Leave the wood in a warm place to speed up “dry” time.

natural tallow balm

Buy on Etsy

The color varies.  I asked the bees to be more consistent with their wax color, but they were more interested in smelling flowers.

Made with tallow, olive oil and beeswax. No scents are added to this blend, so it doesn’t really smell like anything.

In my opinion, skin & leather need good fats to be healthy (tallow), protection from the elements to heal and look young (beeswax), and a non-harmful thinner to soak it in (olive oil).

Personally, I’ve found this blend is excellent for leather (even work boots!), dry skin, and even aftershave. 

Seriously, I use this regularly on my boots and as aftershave, and so does a friend of mine. Though, I recommend using two different containers so you don’t end up with boot dirt on your face.

As leather makers sometimes use various chemicals to stain and treat the leather, try it on an un-noticeable patch to check compatibility and change in leather color.

Resources

Donate

Thanks to all who have donated in the past. You too are a part of the craft.

Furniture Care

Don’t stress about it, and apply a little finish when it makes you happy.

Donate

Thanks to all who have donated in the past. You too are a part of the craft.

Furniture Care

Don’t stress about it, and apply a little finish when it makes you happy.

join the adventure

Sign up for the newsletter to follow along:

  1. Regular updates & behind the scenes of works in progress
  2. Notifications of woodcrafts & fine furniture available for purchase
  3. First opportunity to reserve projects “in the making”