2025-09-25-Crafting the Pjål (In-Person)

Schedule: 

September 25-28 (9:00 am-5:00 pm CT)

Instructor: 

KJ Groven and Fred Livesay

Location: 

This is an in-person class held at Vesterheim Folk Art School and will use both the knifemaking classroom and the new forging classroom. 

You might have heard people talk about “pjaal, pjål, skjøve, skavl, holskavl, skavkniv, skavjarn, såtjern, or bokskjeis.” The name of this very old tool in Norway is an ongoing discussion. Lucky for us, “pjaal” has been a name that stuck in the U.S. The pjaal has recently gained popularity with timber builders for restoration work and is the Nordic ancestor of the modern hand plane. The pjaal is excellent at smoothing rougher surfaces left by axe and adz and leaves a smooth, slightly wavy surface depending on the shape of the iron.

We will begin at the forge making two smaller pjaals intended for sløyd/ furniture work and two different styles of blades. The blades will be heat-treated and ground, ready to make the wooden handles. We'll make handles of birch using hand and power tools, so make sure your axe and carving knife are sharp. When the blades are mounted, we will sharpen and hone the blades and look at how this tool is adjusted to cut correctly. (The principles are the same for bigger pjaal.)

As time allows, decorating or personalizing your pjaal is encouraged. A final surface treatment will be done. You should go home with two tools ready for you to pjaal away!

Level of Instruction: 

Supplies: 

Enrollment Deadline: 

Click here to learn more about instructor KJ Groven.

Click here to learn more about instructor Fred Livesay.

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