Modern commodities are often made of materials the names of which we have not even heard of, to say nothing of the manufacturing process. In peasant culture everything was clear and simple. The everyday craftwork done by men involved mainly making various wooden objects which were needed in a farmstead household. It was quite justified to call the long period until the mid-1800s in Estonia 'the era of wood'. The majority of wooden articles were tools and household utensils for daily use, and one needed them in remarkably large quantities.

Apart of certain traits in the collective mindset, such as a preference for solitude and a peculiar sense of humour, living in forests for thousands of years has endowed Estonians with a great deal of ingenuity in finding ways to overcome tricky problems imbedded in woodworking. As it is not easy, for example, to make wooden parts of any 'heavy-duty' artefact hold fast together, clever craftsmen used to take advantage of the natural shape of the piece of wood while making various goods and furniture articles, such as stools and pegs. Thus a fine branch could serve as a nozzle for a spout-mug or a tooth for a harrow, or a good root-stub could be used as an effective hinge for a gate or door. The results of this sort of ingenuity still abound Estonian summer cottages, saunas and pubs.

A branch of handicraft considered a truly ancient tradition in Estonia, is the craft of a cooper that uses several original craft techniques. Since in Estonian 'wooden' farm household the vessels made of staves were used for eating, washing, preserving foodstuffs and transporting various things, a cooper's skills were naturally highly valued. The best example of coopers' trade would be beer mugs, but a plethora of simpler and usually undecorated vessels, such as kegs, barrels, casks, churns, tubs, and so on should also be added here.

Bending is another major technique in Estonian woodwork, used, in older times, when making shaft-bows for horse harnesses, sledge runners, wagon wheels and so on. A different group of 'bent' artefacts, partly still in use today, are vessels made of thin curved boards - all kinds of items from small round boxes for food to the huge winnowing screens. These artefacts are uniquely typical to Northern Europe, as no technique utilised in their production shows evidence of a Central European influence.

Other elaborate wooden utensils were made as engagement or wedding presents. These included all the board-shaped distaffs and band-knives for weaving textile belts, and other practical tools carved by the bridegroom for his future wife. In addition to decorative, and probably magic patterns, the craftsman often carved the name of the recipient (i.e. the bride) and the date of the event into the gift. Although the custom is now virtually extinct, there are some rare examples of hand-carved engagement and wedding gifts from the 1950s and, rarer still, from the present day.

Contemporary Estonians are still rather fond of wooden things. Having gone through the phase of polyester and plastic, they find that furniture made of genuine wood adds dignity to their homes.

And then again, a lot of Estonian men produce, either out of necessity or for the sheer pleasure of crafting, at least one wooden item during their lifetime, be it a boat or a spoon.