Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-07-26
WONDERFUL WORK
IN WOOD CARVING
With Knife and File Man Makes
Marvellous Designs-To Ex-
hibit at Exposition.

Day in and day out for eighteen
years, Jacob Klein, with knife and
file. has kept his dexterous fingers en1-
ployed. The little wooden works of
art that have resulted from his won-
derful skill are his only reward for
his years of patience and toll but
with the completion of each of the
his pay in the pride of the workman
and the admiration of the onlooker.
Klein was born in Hungary IS years
ago. From early youth he displayed
more than ordinary ability as a
whittier and while he was at school.
he had group of boy admirers Of
the marvellous things he could do
with knife But later in life he
grew away from this and he found
work at various trades until when
he had reached 80, he was jack Of
all trades, and master OF none. At
this period nearly all Of his eight
children were working and they telt
il time for their father to retire and
live a life of ease.
Klein could not stay idle and with
time on his hands he turned again to
the entertainment of his boyhood.
His jack knife he still had and with
a file he started to fashion intricate
works of wood. One day when his
wife's back was turned he appropri-
ated black walnut noodle board
and began to ply his knife on 1t. It
became tiresome working at the one
thing continuously, SO, another day
he appropriated the handle of a
broom, and the beginning of a scep-
tire, used in the Jewish religious serv-
ices, was seen.
Six years ago he came to America
with his family and his hobby, as
he calls It, The work on the walnut
board continued until he had fash
toned 1t into a chain within a chain.
One chain of the wooden links runs
through another chain, a rare piece
of work, according to wood carvers.
The sceptre is clean-cut and ingenu-
GUS, but another of his creations, a
cross, is still more clever. There are
nineteen parts to the cross, each con-
tained In the original one piece and
irremovable.
Topping the large cross is a smaller
one nearly an inch high. This top
cross can be turned in it's socket,
but cannot be taken out, and as 1t Is
part of the original wood it was
hard to understand how he had
loosed it without causing it to fall
out. Samuel Klein, his son., of
Chrome. N. j.. and his partner, Harry
Hanfiein, manager IF the American
Mutual Corporation, of this city, ex-
planned how, early one morning, the
carver had awoke suddenly and heat
ing a hatpin over this fire formed a
knife that would solve problem he
had worked on for months. 1t cut
down only as far rs another cross
cut in the wood Here enough of the
original piece had been left to form a
ring around the cross to hold 1t in
place.
Now Klein Is working in his home
in West Virginia on a china closet
to be built of 5000 pieces of wood
When finished he will take ii In
pieces to San Francisco at the ex-
position in 1915. After setting it up
ii will have no nails, screws, glue
or other fasteners-he will offer
reward to anyone who can take it
apart without breaking the parts.
He also has a 1,S00-piece ivory ink
well under way that he expects to
finish in a year