THE CARPENTER

 THE CARPENTER

 Yet another weakening artisan is the carpenter. Well, readers may construe that I am exaggerating and that carpenters are well paid and are in demand round the year. If you clearly perceive the suggestion ‘artisan’ in carpentry, you would just be obliged to nod in the affirmative or concede a polite ‘yes’.

Clearly, I am not talking of the tribe that keeps loitering in pursuit of small time job for livelihood. Most of them can render a simple correction to some defective furniture or some broken items that cannot otherwise be put to use. Well, because they handle wooden items, they go by the broad nomenclature’ the carpenter’. Even granting so, they cannot be rated ‘artisan’ by any stretch of imagination, however chivalrous one may be.

It stands to reason, to precisely clarify what distinguishes a carpenter from another of the same nomenclature who stands for an ‘artisan’.

Among varied traditional pursuits like pottery, weaving, black smithy, gold smithy and so on carpentry stands apart by its very demanding requirements. 

Once cut, the pieces cannot be re-joined without shabby look and a weak union. So, pieces have to be carefully conceived for dimensions so that the wooden item correctly fits the place meant for it as a window or a door. All that can be allowed is a dimension slightly longer by a few millimeters, such that a fractional trimming can bring off the best fit ‘insert’ in place.

 Also, the traditional carpenters were entrusted the responsibility of selecting the wood fit for use. In this case ‘fitness for use’ implies that the   material lends itself for ‘tooling’. That means the wood can be finely chiseled

for blemish-less  surface by feel and texture free of bristly looks.  So, the person handling the work ought to judge beforehand the amenability features of the wood chosen. A major demand by any user is that the product shares rich looks and presents royal looks upon ultimate presentation.

These days there are no ‘artisan’ quality workers; they get the surface clearing carving etc., readily done by machines in minutes.

As such, there is no pride of ‘hand craft’ these days, as all ‘designs’ are machine-carved; several wood requirements  for new structures are marketed as  finished products ; the carpenter merely fixes them up.

The earlier ‘artisan’ brand carpenters would personally dress the wood, carve , trim ,shape the wood keeping in mind all dimensional features. Above all, they would themselves make typical blends of polishing waxes that would render a royal glossy finish competing with that of a quality mirror. 

Such elegance of hand work cannot be met by persons who quickly rush through work as a wage earning effort.

So, artisan kind of carpenters have faded into the oblivion by a very low social patronage; people who engage these workers have very little inclination to demarcate job seeker from an artisan. Sadly such human skills for niceties  have declined.

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