<story><title>Riving, a Viking-age woodworking technique</title><url>http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_woodworking_riving.htm</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>GlenTheMachine</author><text>This is an interesting article, but riving is not specifically Viking. It was the primary method of producing workable wood blanks from tree trunks in every civilization that used wood blanks. Which is to say, it was used all over Europe and Asia (at least), for at least the last 2000-plus years. I&amp;#x27;m not as familiar with the woodworking traditions of Africa or pre-European-contact North or South America, so I don&amp;#x27;t know whether they used wood blanks.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s also used today by &amp;quot;green woodworkers&amp;quot; - woodworkers who specialize in building using non-dried wood. This mostly includes chair makers, but also some others. You can buy riving tools from a lot of places. Lie-Nielsen makes a very nice riving froe. You can also find antique ones at almost any antique woodworking tool show.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>321yawaworht</author><text>Where do you guys come from? How do you know all this stuff?&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s so interesting and I&amp;#x27;m often surprised at the diversity of knowledge, experience and backgrounds on HN. For even the most esoteric of subjects folks here will have interesting input. I love to try and experiment, and like people who are passionate about things.&lt;p&gt;Just wanted to get it off my chest. I love this place and it makes me appreciate life and its peculiarities more. When I was in high school I dreaded only observing greasy nerds interested in techy stuff. It&amp;#x27;s been a while but HN has really shown a different side of the world to me.&lt;p&gt;Thanks!</text></comment>
<story><title>Riving, a Viking-age woodworking technique</title><url>http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_woodworking_riving.htm</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>GlenTheMachine</author><text>This is an interesting article, but riving is not specifically Viking. It was the primary method of producing workable wood blanks from tree trunks in every civilization that used wood blanks. Which is to say, it was used all over Europe and Asia (at least), for at least the last 2000-plus years. I&amp;#x27;m not as familiar with the woodworking traditions of Africa or pre-European-contact North or South America, so I don&amp;#x27;t know whether they used wood blanks.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s also used today by &amp;quot;green woodworkers&amp;quot; - woodworkers who specialize in building using non-dried wood. This mostly includes chair makers, but also some others. You can buy riving tools from a lot of places. Lie-Nielsen makes a very nice riving froe. You can also find antique ones at almost any antique woodworking tool show.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>vinceguidry</author><text>The article was hosted on hurstwic.org, which is a website dedicated to teaching Viking martial arts. It does not claim that riving is purely a Viking technique. I suppose it could have mentioned that, but I doubt the author ever considered their article making it to the front page of HN.</text></comment>