Welcome to Wood Slivers with Vic Tesolin

Welcome to Wood Slivers

Hello and welcome to Wood Slivers. I’ve been woodworking for over 20 years and during that time I’ve picked up little bits of woodworking information, slivers if you will, that I like to share with others. Sometimes they are bits of hard-won wisdom that came from mistakes, while others are little tips or tricks that can help your woodworking journey go a bit smoother.

These quick reads will hopefully give you an insight into how and why I woodwork. They may inspire you to try new things or avoid them like the plague (that’s a bit on the nose). You may want to try things that I show you and decide for yourself if it is something you want to do. Many people may know me from my book The Minimalist Woodworker but may be surprised to learn that I am not a Minimalist Woodworker myself. I’m not a machine jockey or a hand tool-only kind of guy, I’m somewhere in between. I like my machines to help me do the grunt work but prefer hand tools to finish things off.

While slivers are nice little tips and bits of information, they are also those little pieces of wood that sometimes end up under your skin.. I may introduce topics that challenge your own woodworking philosophies and techniques.. I may talk about things like sharpening or the metric system for example that may bother you. While my goal is to not make you feel annoyed, I do like some healthy debate and to challenge long standing woodworking thoughts or techniques.

So welcome to my little corner of KJP Select Hardwoods. I’m so happy to be working with a company that I have loved for so long. Since the very beginning, KJP has always been my favourite wood store. When I moved from the Ottawa area to Southern Ontario, I was sad to leave KJP behind. Finding a good wood store is just as difficult as finding a good barber or stylist … when you find one, you don’t ever want to lose them. Sometimes, when we least expect it, we can find slivers of silver linings. This pandemic has allowed me to reconnect with my favourite wood store and to work with a company that continues to grow and work hard to give their customers what they want.

For now, stay in your shops and use this time to develop your woodworking skills if you can. Practice and an open mind is what helps us grow. Remember, in order to understand, you must do.

Vic