A few woodworking friends were talking about some of the past and current woodworking “celebrities”, such as Roy Underhill, Peter Follansbee, Gochnour, Hack, Becksvoort, etc. One person who was pretty much chastised by all was Chris Schwarz, who was described variously as crude, infantile, sophomoric, and pretty full of himself for someone who hasn’t really made any good furniture but is always selling something basic that he acts as though he invented. While others command respect, including others no longer in the limelight such as Frid, Malioff, Nakashima, Schwarz seemed to be on the opposite end of the spectrum.
I have to agree, but that’s just my personal opinion. The Woodwright’s Shop episodes that he appeared in cemented this for me. He seemed like an arrogant smart ass, just waiting to fit in some crude double entendre. Why Roy put up with him, even encouraged him, is beyond me and seemed uncharacteristic.
Thoughts? Were they being too harsh? Are there other celebrities that you love, or love to hate?
Replies
Wow, couldn't disagree more. Not sure why you would want to attack someone who's done nothing but promote the craft and teach good technique. Much of it is shared for free on his blog. You may not like his style, but to say he hasn't made any good furniture is absurd. We should celebrate Schwarz's contributions along with the others you mentioned.
Go build something.
I disagree also. I too think he has done nothing but promote the craft of woodworking. He's trying to make a buck like the rest of us and has found a niche. The books his company publishes would not have come to life anywhere else. That alone puts him among the greats in my mind. My $0.02.
I was occasionally offered a piece of advice by my father when I was a child. "If you don't have something nice to say, dont say anything at all."
While I disagree with you, perhaps you should consider doing a little research first. Primarily I would suggest learning how to spell his name.
It was spelled correctly in the body of the forum, the title was a typo.
I stand by my comments, he offers nothing new, and his free blog is just a way for him to promote himself.
Yes, his personality or "style" is what I dislike the most. But his contributions are minor at best. It's hilarious to put him in the category of "greats". I wonder what the real great woodworkers think of him. Oh wait, perhaps that's out there if you read between the lines...
I read the Lost Art Press blog and have learned quite a bit from it. I value the opinions of Chris and the other contributors. You do not have to agree with all comments (from anyone for that matter) to benefit from what is offered. I think it is also important to be thick skinned and not take every comment personal. See the humor, laugh at your own quirks, and get over it. Chris is master of two crafts and professions - woodworking and journalism in my opinion.
Chris Schwarz has written some of the most interesting woodworking articles That I have seen. You don’t seem to get his style of humor. And his projects that he writes about are usually quite beautiful. He writes in an engaging style and he deserves praise for his research and body of work.
When you na-sayers graduate with honors from Northwestern and run a woodworking magazine for 10 years and build a house with hand tools then you can get back to me
Luv him.
Rather than posting something like this, wouldn't your time be better spent enjoying the things you enjoy in life and getting up from the computer?
Perhaps creating something for someone, or fixing something that's been needing it, or calling a friend for a chat?
None of us have to follow anyone; we do so (hopefully) for inspiration or to learn something. This craft is, for many, an outlet and/or a means of adding something to our lives that we enjoy.
Life really is short. Please share some love with your friends and family. Smile and enjoy the day.
Agree - every computer has a keyboard - if you don't like what is on the screen use the keyboard to search for something else. That's what the rest of us do.
I do that frequently.
Actually, other than building a home with "handtools", I've done more both academically and professionally, and maybe that's why I think fart jokes and other such 7th grade humor just isn't very funny. It's strange to me that someone who has a degree in journalism and edited a hobbyist magazine would be as crude and juvenile. I think it's a good thing to call out poor behaviour among someone in the limelight, whether it's Schwarz, Trump, or any other "celebrity". Yeah, he's a real Anarchist....lol.
Every woodworker has something to offer, and Schwarz is no different. I guess if you don't like him, avoid him :) I'm ambivalent towards Schwarz, to answer your question.
But as an example, I don't care for Paul Sellers' attitude towards inlays, banding and stringing, as he claims they're icons of pretentiousness for the wealthy. But I personally love that stuff. I could've felt insulted by that, but he's welcome to his opinions. I still read his blogs though because he's been working wood a long time and has interesting things to say.
It's like politics, social media and other such things, if you don't like what someone says, take what you can get from it and move along. No energy needed for hatin' on anyone :)
Everyone knows Chris is a true legend that has made a massive contribution to the modern-day Woodworking world. A true master of the craft in his own right and prolific writer that is second to none.
I agree with ChipSawdust and hate has no place here - this blog is about the love of the craft.
Presumably the time we have available to read about woodworking, rather than actually doing it, is limited. That being true, I'd usually rather read something by Garrett Hack, Chris Gochnour, or some of the FW archived material which is invaluable (Gene Landon, Phil Lowe, Tage Frid, etc.) As a furnituremaker, Schwarz isn't in the same league. He scratches an itch for some, just not for me.
I get the vague sense (and I could be wrong) that he's part of the crowd who owes their success to being able to throw enough money at it until success is practically assured. Ruin a workpiece, no problem just buy more wood, need a tool -- just buy it, need more time -- no problem, there's no particular customer delivery date looming or backlog to manage. At some point, that's not really craftsmanship.
I've never had the impression that he's a very deep thinker about furniture, history of styles, etc. I think he's an expert at finding topics that lend themselves to a polemicist's style of writing -- edicts issued then often revisited and retracted, etc. Just not my cuppa'. I guess it sells magazines, but I hope FW keeps a tight leash on him. PW seemed like the perfect place for him, and his cohorts, though they've managed to find their way here. We'll see how it works out. Of all the people who wrote for PW, I sure miss Glen Huey and Bob Lang the most -- easily the most accomplished furnituremakers of the old PW stable of contributors.
In the post-modern world, personality and its antic trump (!) the content of what the personality is imparting. Style over substance. A form of identity politics rooted in the dialectic of often rabid individualism with an often highly intolerant conformism to some tribal dogma or other.
Personally I try to ignore the often grating personalities and their overlay of lookitme, in favour of the content they deliver (if any). It isn't easy. Being a human thing, I react to personality traits and behaviours like all humans tend to.
Yet it often pays dividends to get past the personality if the content delivered is revealing, interesting, educative or even transformative. In past times, here on the FWW forum when it was the very lively Knots, I learnt many valuable things from personalities I found grating, annoying and obtuse in great degree. In fact, "people not like us" are often those with the most valuable ideas and processes to impart, as they are alien to our own preferences .... yet offer very effective alternatives.
Chris Schwartz' written tone and visual antics are not to my taste. But I don't dismiss him out of hand since he does have many interesting perspectives to show. I've learnt not to care about how he speaks and acts. It's a mistake, I feel, to disparage what he says because of how he says it - and an even bigger mistake to dismiss everything he does with spurious and invented reasons-why - as somehow substandard because you don't like him.
On the other hand, Some personalities make it easier to listen to them. I could listen to Chris Gochnour all day, because he's muted, has a fascinating accent, makes an endearing trouser hitch before having-at a task and is very clear in what he says. Paul Sellers, on the other hand, gets up my nose with his Mancunian sneery "It's all easy, look at me doing it easily" attitude; and his out-of-hand dismissal of "I don't do this myself, so you don't need it either". Yet even he has the odd interesting thing to say (although not much).
Lataxe
Well stated, David.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Chris demonstrates how to use hand tools in everyday situations. It’s not show off stuff, like “look at my vintage tool collection”. He keeps a tidy shop and gives good advice only after extensive research.
He also took a publication that was probably the worst woodworking magizine in the 1980’s and turned it into a gem before he left his position at Popular Woodworking.
I get your disdain towards fart jokes, but he’s just trying to spiff up his writing and not sound like a boring shop manual (like most woodworking blogs). Which reminds me... he’s still blogging! How many woodworkers started a blog in 2009 that are now ghost blogs?
I look forward to reading what ever Chris writes. Always interesting.
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“[Deleted]”
Hi Chelor,
You said, "and pretty full of himself for someone who hasn’t really made any good furniture...". See the web address below for examples of the furniture he has built. You might want to remove that line from your post.
https://christophermschwarz.com/
Thanks for the link. I have seen a bunch of Mr. Schwarz’s work but couldn’t find it. This entire post is shameful.
He writes and works wood. I've read what he writes and seen what he builds. From that, I know more today than I did yesterday. It's all good.
All,
The OP is from a year ago and this was his/her only post under the "chelor" name. Seems like the OP opted to turn tail after spewing the hate. Good bye and hope you learn to look in the mirror prior to posting your dribble in the future. Here's some advice: before you post, read back what you write while looking in said mirror. You may not like Chris` humor, but to say he isn't genuine is patently false. I don't like each of the "greats" you espoused, but I listen to all of them because they have something to share and I'm always listening. There's a reason the good Lord gave us two eyes, two ears, and only one mouth.
I've met Chris a couple times and chatted a bit each time. He seemed like a pretty decent guy to me. He doesn't promote himself as a master artisan, but rather an ambassador/historian for the craft.
“[Deleted]”
You could attack Norm Abram or Roy Underhill next (please don't).
I’m going to add a riposte in case you ever return to this uncharitable posting again, OP.
Your comment makes me glad that my ancestors had the foresight to pack off the Puritans in a boat. Before and since getting rid of such nuisances, we English, the earlier practitioners and mechanics of the language which you appear to take for granted, enjoyed good bawdy humour throughout our culture, whether from Chaucer, Shakespeare, Sterne, or Larkin. Better thou respect this.
Do you think Roy Underhill doesn’t like a dirty joke? Did you not see the utter relish in which he helps to set up Schwarz’s jokes? Did he not carefully set up Schwarz’s ‘test nickels’ gag, one of the best turns I’ve seen? If you missed this then perhaps your humour is withered, and you have no appreciation of how working people talk to each other in the trades.
The rest of your invective is vinegar in beer and hardly worth the sniff, since no-one in their right mind will take it from you. Criticising a communicator of millennial old craft for not being original is like tasking a historian with writing about something new, and I note that Schwarz has produced, commissioned and published original research, whilst your contribution to the world is what? Deciding which cold turnip to eat for dinner?
Can I upvote this?
Well done Bicycleclip - I laughed out loud reading it.
Isn't social media great?
Actually I find him amusing, like when he was sweating away hand sawing out tenons in a 5x5 with a bandsaw in the backround.
Whether he's right or wrong, he's entitled to his opinion, this forum is not the place, tho.
So if I also happen to agree with some of what he said, does that make me a bad person deserving of a personal attack with worse invectives than the poster? Its just another example of cancel culture and attacking those you disagree with.
Bottom line -- so what? We're all supposed to be entitled to our opinion, without scourged or burned at the stake. But not anymore but you can't dislike someone's personality or voice an "unmainstream" POV without getting cancelled.
I really hate the term canceled. Nothing is ever canceled. It's just a whine designed to gain sympathy for the phony oppressed.
Chris, It seems that civility, humility and respect are quickly disappearing from our society. (Big SIGH!!!!)
We could use more folks like you in our world. A big “THANK YOU” for all that you have done for our craft.
Folks, I’m sure that FWW didn’t create this forum for this type of discussion. It seems to me it is intended for helping us all gain more knowledge (both sharing and learning) for our craft.
@Bicycleclip - thank you. You said it all so eloquently. Here in the south we feed people like our profound originator of this topic “cold grits”. Don’t much care for turnips, hot or cold.
You know, I really wouldn't mind seeing this "forum" disappear, or at least be moderated. I'm finding more and more with recent threads that it detracts from FWW more than it adds to it. The comments section under the articles is one thing, but this forum is something else.
I'm pretty serious about not censoring our forum members, subscribers, and members. We can't delete posts just because we don't like them.
It's just plain easier for those that don't like the forum to ignore the forum.
It's not hard. I ignore stuff all the time.
I find this forum informative, entertaining, helpful, and quite civilized compared to others. No issues.
Me too. It's probably the most civil forum I've ever read.
Taun Tom, do you know what the Ton Tons Mercoute is? It's odd you'd pick that name, unless you're a member of it.
I know someone who wanted to be called Uncle Gunnysack.
Ben, Don’t shut down this forum. It helps most of us out here stay up with the non-commercial side of all things woodworking. Seems as though most of us have a lot in common and we enjoy the learning and sharing part very much.
Thank you.
Chris and Roy have great chemistry on the many episodes that they have done together, their genuine friendship is evident. The writing and scholarship he has produced over his career are invaluable to the craft.
I say this as someone who used to find him off-putting. The more I've learned the craft the more I appreciate him.
If you don't take the bait these folks move on. Just sayin'.
For those that don't like a thread: The only way it drops to page 2 is by NOT posting to it. The act of saying it should be gone is why you're still looking at it.
The late racing legend said it so well when the young Jeff Gordon was getting booed at driver introductions. "Son as long as they are making noise you do not have a problem." He promotes the craft and gets people excited by building some of the simplist forms that really anyone can do.
When first learning woodworking I learned a lot from Chris. I'm sure he has been a help to many people learning the craft . His bringing to light a rare glimpse of woodworking in the past is something I find very interesting. Personality bashing and negativity I don't find very interesting.
Love his work, his writing. Took a class with him and loved every second of it.
Had a great time and learned tons from him and his books and writing. He has taught me so so much about hand tool woodworking that I am very very thankful for. His company Lost Art press rocks!!
To his credit, he has encouraged a lot of beginners to take up the hobby and has encouraged using hand tools.
I do think he is overrated compared to quieter woodworkers typical of the Taunton universe.
The original post is from 1.5 years ago.
Time to let this thread die.
He's okay, I enjoy what he writes but he might not be everyone's cup of tea. Everybody can't be Ben Strano.
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