Joel's Blog

A Post Amana Shout Out

09/30/2026

Here’s a shout-out to Julia Kalthoff, the Swedish axe-maker. We first became acquainted with Julia via an article in Quercus magazine, and immediately started carrying her axes thereafter. We finally met Julia in person at Handworks. She came all the way from Stockholm! We’ve been out of stock of the axes for a while but good news we’re expecting a shipment next month.
I also met for the first time Matt Johnson, a woodworker based in Iowa who was helping Julia with her booth and logistics. This is an example of camaraderie that we love to see in the woodworking community. We had dinner with them both, and Matt showed me his portfolio of some really wonderful work. Take a look here. He's got a great modernist take on the Arts and Crafts style, which I like a lot. I’m also a sucker for walnut, my favorite wood. In addition to being a furniture maker, Matt also is a spoon maker and teaches spoon making.

Julia Kalthoff in her booth at Handworks

It was great meeting people in Amana. Some of the people I was meeting for the first time said they felt they knew me already, and it’s because they read the blog, which was fun. It was especially great to meet some of the people who had bought the Folding Treadle lathe from the pre-order list and had actually begun using it. (Reports: they are having a lot of fun with the lathe!)

An update on the lathe. We have finished the pre-orders. We have a few lathes in stock that we are offering to people who have previously put their names down to be notified when we have lathe to sell. When those are gone, there will be a bit of a break while we change vendors for the base. After that we should have lathes available for everyone.

Possibly the most important part of the treadle lathe experience is shared by most of the hand tools we stock. There is no motor - it is “Powered By You.” You are not a machine operator. With hand tools, you are the machine. This give you a sense of control and participation that many people find extremely satisfying. So we put this idea on a T-Shirt with an original design and artwork by Alyson, whom many of you met at Handworks (and others of you have spoken to when you've called on Mondays and Wednesdays). We had to rush the T-Shirt so we would have them in time for Handworks, but now the dust has settled and we can make them generally available here.

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The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the blog's author and guests and in no way reflect the views of Tools for Working Wood.

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