James Krenov: Leave Fingerprints

Jan 10

As I brought this book home, tightly wrapped in shrink wrap to inform my wife that she had purchased it for me for Christmas, I had no idea what to expect. As I discussed in my last YouTube video, I view woodworking books in three categories: bibliography, educational, and coffee table. Assuming this was the third of my categories, it was a mild surprise when the story began in Russia in the 1800’s with James Krenov’s parents and their background and upbringing.

For this reason, to me, it began quite slowly but as I accepted the biographical nature of the work I became more and more pulled in to the story of the young Russian boy and his worldly, yet impoverished, upbringing and what ultimately set him on a patch to be regarded as one of the Masters in woodworking of the 20th century. Having known nothing of Krenov before gently peeling the aforementioned shrink-wrap off, I was fascinated by his life’s journey, mindset, and approach to the woodworking craft and his journey into and through it.

I didn’t quite make it half way through Gaffney’s work before looking online to order my own copy of Krenov’s own The Cabinetmaker’s Notebook so I could see for myself why this work was lauded as so influential to, so far, two generations of woodworkers; among which are many prominent and accomplished names. I look forward to reading for myself Krenov’s perspective and mindset on transforming the material given to us by nature into works of beauty and joy that are only hinted at within this text.

While this is my first biography of a woodworker, I feel that it was well composed and masterfully laid out with photos of Krenov’s work, photos of him in action, and photos of some of those he influenced and their work as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who finds the pursuit of excellence in the craft and anyone who would like to better understand what makes a woodworker a Master within the craft.