
Hand-hewer Stephen Smith, pictured here with his broad ax, recently spoke at an event put on by the Cumberland Historical Society. Eloise Goldsmith / The Forecaster
Six years ago, Stephen Smith of Cumberland decided that he missed working with his hands and spending time outside. “I wanted to get out in nature and make something I could see,” he recalled.
To fill that void, he gravitated toward a craft with historical roots: hand-hewing. These days, what started out as a hobby has turned into a full-blown business. Armed with an ax and some other basic tools, Smith will fell trees and then chip away at the outside of the wood, revealing the warm-colored inside of the log. He does 90% of the work of scoring and rough hewing the wood with a felling ax, and then will go in with a broad ax to smooth out the surface.
To his knowledge, Smith – who is both a 1999 Greely High School graduate and a published author – is the only craftsperson who hand-hews logs commercially in North America. He spoke to a small crowd at Cumberland Town Hall about his business, Renaissance Timber, at a recent session put on by the Cumberland Historical Society on Oct. 23.
He said he was first inspired to explore the craft when he read the book “Reverence for Wood” by Eric Sloane, which discusses old building techniques, including hand-hewing. He learned to hew by “watching YouTube videos” and “trial and error,” he said.

A 9-by-12-inch, 16-foot hand-hewn pine beam that Smith produced this fall. Contributed / Stephen Smith
“I discovered it was not difficult to learn how to hew, but it does take a lifetime to refine the process and to get quicker at it so that you’re hewing twice as fast.”
The business first started as a side hustle, but grew into his full-time occupation in summer 2022. He now sells his hand-hewn beams and other hewn products to clients, such as an architect in Harpswell who was building a house that was a combination of a stick-built and timber frame with exposed beams. In that instance, Smith provided beams that were structural, not just decorative.
In addition to the skill that goes into hewing, “the other aspect of hewing is time. This is why I don’t have competition,” said Smith. He recently rehabbed multiple 50-foot beams for a client in Freeport, “and it took me about 25 hours per beam, which was about 110,000 ax strikes per beam.
“There’s just no one that wants to do that anymore as a business, so it’s a great niche to be in,” he said.
Smith sells unfinished, hand-hewn beams for $10 per board foot and finished beams (hewn, sanded and stained) for $20 per board foot. He said his biggest competition is the reclaimed wood industry, which he describes as the salvage industry around old barns and farmhouses that are made out of wood beams. But, according to Marketplace, reclaimed wood is not typically graded for structural building, as Smith’s beams can be.
Smith has a showroom at 278 Tuttle Road. Would-be customers can make an appointment and come see his finished benches, finished mantles, unfinished beams and other products.
Carol Gagnon, a member of the Cumberland Historical Society who attended the talk, said she was impressed by Smith’s artistry and the fact that he’s able to handle such large logs. When asked if she could imagine commissioning Smith for some hand-hewn beams she demurred. “I live in a Cape Cod style house. I don’t think I need a beam like that, but they are beautiful.”
Members of the Cumberland Historical Society who showed up also got their fill of history from Smith’s presentation. What advancement during the Industrial Revolution helped hasten a move away from timber frame homes? Answer: mass-produced nails.
Colonial settlers in the United States often built their homes out of beams that were fitted together via complex joinery. Nails were handmade at the time and not in plentiful supply.
“We see timber frames throughout New England, the barns, the farmhouses. They last forever because they’re heavy gauge beams. They usually were not insulated … so if moisture got in, it tended to dry out. Whereas today we have insulation, so the moisture kind of just stays there, and wood will rot,” said Smith.
The Industrial Revolution brought mass-produced nails, and then balloon framing – which uses nails and smaller timber – and then platform framing, which is what we have today.
Smith also spoke about the other countries that also have hewers – France and Japan, for example. Smith will wear baseball shin guards to protect his legs while working with an ax. “On social media, I posted about it, and suddenly the guys in France went, ‘That’s a good idea.’ They don’t have baseball in France so they’re using a lot of soccer guards over there.”
Smith’s craft has another international connection. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Smith would post often about the war on social media and advertise his support for Ukraine, including by donating money to the cause. He was contacted by an ax maker in Ukraine who offered to give Smith an ax as a thank-you for this support.
“The one thing I noticed about European axes (is) the steel is a little softer. So the couple of European axes that I have, I can sharpen them more easily because the steel is softer on the edges, but they take a little more damage,” he said.
Smith also describes hewing as a lifestyle. He said he had more back issues when working in an office than he’s ever had hand-hewing. He loves that the work is physical and outdoors. He describes it as environmentally green, given that his operation has a very low carbon footprint and the wood chips he creates turn into mulch that support the natural habitat.
“Mental health-wise, getting out in nature … staying connected to the seasons, and creating something beautiful is good,” he said.
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