Christopher Schwarz Leaving the Editor’s Chair

[Johnny Kleso]

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/significant-staff-changes-at-popular-woodworking-magazine

Looks like my friend Chris Schwarz is going to start a Llama farm

Scroll down to second paragraph and read the story...
I'm sad he is leaving, I met him at the big international wood show here in Atlanta a few years ago.. I introduced myself to him and he said he knew me from my name badge and chatting on the web.. I was honored that he knew me as I was honored to meet him :) We have exchanged emails now and then.. I hope he writes more now..

[Dave Lehnert]

That kinda sucks. But happy for him. May be better for us woodworkers in the long run.
Living here in Cincinnati I have been lucky enough to spend some time in the Popular Woodworking shop with Chris. Just about a month ago got to spend a Saturday afternoon with him and talked about his new book on Tool Chests due out soon. He is the most knowledgeable person I know about the craft of woodworking with hand tools. I wish him luck.

[Zahid Naqvi]

according to the press release he will still continue to write his blog and contribute towards the magazine. I'm thinking he probably wants to focus more on woodworking research and such without having to worry about editorial stuff. His visibility will probably increase in the WWing community.

[Michael Peet]

Best of luck, Chris. I enjoy your writing, which has provided both humor and inspiration when needed.

Mike

[Phil Thien]

Kinda disappointed the llama thing isn't true.

I enjoyed watching him on Roy's show. The two of them together make for great TV.

[David Keller NC]

Yeah, my take on this is that it's not good - not good at all. I'm a vocal critic of the "new" Fine Woodworking Magazine, and the principle critique and distinction between FWW and PWW is thoughtfulness that goes into the articles and overall analytical take of PWW. FWW these days seems to be full of recycled technique articles that present the author's "this is how I accomplish this common woodworking task". PWW, on the other hand, will actually go to the trouble of researching how a continuum of WWs accomplish a particular task, or a particular design element, and make an attempt to analyze all of them and present the results to the reader.

Another distiguishing feature is their beginner-aimed articles. The content of the "I can do that" series over the last couple of years has been nothing short of brilliant. It would be tempting, I suspect, for the editors to fill this column with chotskies, like birdhouses, pen turnings and victorian scroll-sawn knick-knack shelves. Instead, they've made a conscious effort to present projects that are useful pieces of furniture, which very much suggests that they understand the mentality of many, many beginners. I.E. - "My wife is sort of OK with me spending money on tools and taking up much of the basement with a workshop, but she wants to see some output, and in her eyes that's useful, functional and beautiful pieces of furniture that are made of solid wood and are otherwise unaffordable for us. How do I make those?"

While this bit of analytical thought might seem trivial, it wasn't - it was sheer genius. And just about every topic in the magazine was approached in this analytical way, and it radically set PWW apart from the tidal wave of vapid dross that fills the magazine racks these days.

I sincerely hope that way of thinking stays after Chris' departure, but it makes me nervous. One only has to pick up his "Workbenches" book to realize that this analytical tact was his major contribution to the magazine and to WW in general. It will be very sad indeed if PWW backslides into the Fine Woodworking black hole.

[Terry Beadle]

I agree with Mr. Keller. It could be good or it could be an end of an era. So I guess I'll opt for "it's going to be good" !

IMO Mr. Schwartz has contributed so much to the wood working community that no matter where he writes or travels from, he will be missed greatly. David Keller's description above about Mr. Schwartz's analytical and practicality is dead on. It's the spirit behind the writing that really carries through to the passion of wood working that we all enjoy because of his efforts. ( Whoops...he's not dead ! ... hoot! ) . Really I'm going to miss him. I hope this works out.

[Roger Bell]

That's very well stated, David. And, like you, I am apprehensive that the void might not easily be filled by anyone else involved in WW publications.

Chris took PWW (a second rate pub that I had subscribed to for several years prior) and turned it around, giving it a fresh and innovative focus. The new PWW and its staff was a major force in bringing what was an emerging Hand Tool Renaissance to where it is now. And they did it with creatively better than anyone else in publishing. It was gratifying to watch all that grow to witness the appreciation of HT methods emerge once again in the WW community. We are all richer for his efforts.

[john brenton]

I'm glad I read your post as I was fittin to go on a tirade about the Lllama farming subsidy scam". I love those little buggers though.


Kinda disappointed the llama thing isn't true.

I enjoyed watching him on Roy's show. The two of them together make for great TV.

[Leigh Betsch]

I think he's leaving so he can spend more
time on the Creek!

[Rolf Maxa]

Chris was a guest speaker in April at the Rochester Woodworkers Society monthly national speaker meeting. He is a very knowledgeable speaker, and I enjoyed his presentation very much. He did a review of his workbench and tool chest. I just starting reading PWW and also find it a more enjoyable read. I'm sorry to see him leave the magazine, but I will continue to follow him on his blog.

[Pam Niedermayer]

...While this bit of analytical thought might seem trivial, it wasn't - it was sheer genius. And just about every topic in the magazine was approached in this analytical way, and it radically set PWW apart from the tidal wave of vapid dross that fills the magazine racks these days.

I sincerely hope that way of thinking stays after Chris' departure, but it makes me nervous. One only has to pick up his "Workbenches" book to realize that this analytical tact was his major contribution to the magazine and to WW in general. It will be very sad indeed if PWW backslides into the Fine Woodworking black hole.

I agree completely, this is bad; and I'd bet it has to do more with the number of subscriptions than anything else. Which, btw, is bogus with this recession/depression, can't believe anyone is making his/her numbers.

[Rob Fisher]

I agree completely, this is bad; and I'd bet it has to do more with the number of subscriptions than anything else. Which, btw, is bogus with this recession/depression, can't believe anyone is making his/her numbers.

Actually Chris states on his blog "...Our balance sheet is excellent. Our bean-counting superiors are happy. Our readers are (generally) satisfied...". And if one can believe Chris's own words then his real reason is "...Actually, I’m going to plunge deeper into woodworking history, old texts and traditional hand-tool techniques with my little company, Lost Art Press LLC..." (again from his blog).

I do agree that this is (potentially) bad. I read PWW because of Chris and David is spot on with his analysis.

[Pam Niedermayer]

Actually Chris states on his blog "...Our balance sheet is excellent. Our bean-counting superiors are happy. Our readers are (generally) satisfied...". And if one can believe Chris's own words then his real reason is "...Actually, I’m going to plunge deeper into woodworking history, old texts and traditional hand-tool techniques with my little company, Lost Art Press LLC..." (again from his blog)

I stand corrected and hope Chris has trained a successor.

Pam

[Joe Cunningham]

I look forward to him building his WW'ing press (Lost Art Press), which I understand is his reason for stepping down. I think PWW will be less interesting with him and Glenn Huey stepping down, but they could surprise me.

I am also looking forward to taking a week-long class with him later this summer.

[Jim Neeley]

Chris has certainly left a large pair of boots to fill at PWW.. I know I subscribed to PWW based on Chris's articles. Hopefully PWW will recognize the unique segment of the market Chris has drawn to their publication and find a way to continue sufficient hand tool insight to keep its subscribers (and thereby its bean counters) happy.

Jim

[Jonathan McCullough]

I'm of two minds about it. Like any endeavor, PWW is a collaborative effort, and only as good as the people who put it together. Having never met Chris Scharz, I'm inclined to like the guy, and appreciate his approach. Someone could, and will, fill his shoes. I hope they follow the direction he led the magazine.

On the other hand, think about having to put a magazine like that together. That's a lot of copy, a lot of photos, a lot of illustrations. A lot of advertisers to coax, a lot of egos to pet. What would you do if you were the editor? How many How to Sharpen a Chisel articles could you write or commission before you'd had enough? It seems to me like the hand tool renaissance is due in large part to rediscovering old techniques that once were so commonplace among the semi-literate craftspeople that no one thought, or bothered to write them down. But once you've unearthed, discovered, and written about most of them, what do you do next?

I'm glad Scharz is going to do something different, and that he's vacating that chair on his terms. He's built a lot of credibility and helped a lot of people with their wood working. We should probably keep an eye out for Lost Art Press and if he's got new stuff out, probably buy some of it! In the meanwhile, don't count PWW out.

[Pam Niedermayer]

...It seems to me like the hand tool renaissance is due in large part to rediscovering old techniques that once were so commonplace among the semi-literate craftspeople that no one thought, or bothered to write them down. But once you've unearthed, discovered, and written about most of them, what do you do next?...

Probably had a little to do with the health warnings about cancer and wood dust.

Pam

[george wilson]

The fact is,craftsmen were secretive about their work,and didn't want to divulge information that they took years to learn through a rigid guild or apprenticeship system. When Diderot was doing his encyclopedia of trades,he was often fed bogus info,and you can see it through some of the drawings in his massive works. The most glaring I can think of is the completely wrong drawing of how the braces under a harpsichord soundboard are arranged.

DaVinci took measures also. He wrote backwards,but his best dodge was to use pet names for chemicals,and only he knew what the chemicals were."Add 2 measures of Venus",for example. Who knows what Venus was?

Back in the old days,most craftsmen thought that Diderot was a nut. No other finely dressed gentleman had showed up at their shops asking detailed questions. Reamour is the only other such person I can think of. He was a gentleman and scientist that the king of France commissioned to be an industrial spy. He went to England to try to find out how the English made steel. The French mined natural steel,but didn't know how to make it by adding carbon. He spent a long time trying to find out,and never did. However,he did make some good guesses along the way. "Reamour's Memoirs" is an interesting read for the technically curious(nuts like me.)

[george wilson]

It is interesting that the English knew how to make steel(blister steel),while they did not know how to make armor. Henry VIII imported Flemish armorers from Flanders to establish armor making in Greenwich. The king of Austria had sort of rubbed his nose in this area. He had send Henry a very elaborate suit of armor that was very decorative,even including steel eyeglasses (without lenses) as a rather whimsical,but incredibly skillfully made suit of armor. So as to say "We can do what you cannot."

The English also did not make decent guns until French Huguenots fleeing France settled in England,and carried their skills to England. Gunmaking was much improved then.

England was denied alum by the Europeans. For use in dying cloth,the English managed to somehow develop an elaborate process of making alum,when they knew (no one did) anything about chemistry until about 1830. The English also denied the Europeans things. They had natural deposits of graphite from which square pencil leads could be sawn. The government seized all the graphite when it was found that re usable cannon ball molds could be made from it. Scraps were made available to make English pencils. The Europeans struggled for a very long time to make a suitable artificial graphite until Conte in France finally managed to make a clay mixture that worked. They are still well known for pencils and art supplies today.

England was just about always the last place that most art and technology was introduced,though. In harpsichord making,Italy was the first place to make them. Queen Elizabeth's virginals wee Italian pentagonal spinets. After the trade had spread across Europe into France,Germany,and Flanders,it finally made it to England. Pianos were invented in Italy in the 1600's. They were musically ahead of their time,though. No one played crescendos until later. Music on keyboards used he "step dynamics" of shifting in extra choirs of strings in harpsichords. When the architectural style of music became more romanticized later,the piano forte(which means soft and loud",came into vogue. But,I digress.

[Gary Curtis]

Definition of editor = police dispatcher with a dictionary. That's a job which can truly wear a person down. He will probably get more satisfaction from writing the occasional WWing story & lesson, without the burden of enforcing deadlines and correcting the grammar of 10 other writers.

[Eric Brown]

Lets face it. Our need for information, whether new or old, cannot be satisfied. I know he will succeed just because of that. By reducing his involvement with PWW, he now can focus on things that get him excited. The bad thing is he has to choose his projects so that he makes a profit. I also see him making more DVD instructional videos.

As for PWW, well they should be ok for a while. Maybe they will add a feature that compares old tools against each other and then how the new compare to the old. (Ron Herman perhaps?) I am also really surprised that they don't record the sessions at the WWIA show and offer a DVD. I caught a few of Roy Underhills recorded by session goers and he was really funny.

Eric

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

They've voiced before that they'd love to offer DVDs of the WIA sessions, (and as someone who once again can't make it, I'd certainly love that) but that there's a fair amount of issues around negotiating the contracts with all the different speakers. Having worked with musicians, I understand how this can be an issue, particularly if you any of the speakers have are already on contract with other organizations for their recorded work. I assume they also hesitate because they'd like to do it all or nothing, that is, not have a DVD that leaves out three guys or something. You'd think they could offer just Chris's speeches or something.