For as far back as he can remember, Russian Alexander A. Grabovetskiy has found woodcarving fascinating. Around the age of 5, he marveled over the handmade wooden toys—carved bears and other small animals—in his local gift shop. He remembers asking himself, “How in the world is it possible to make them?” Little did he realize then that woodcarving would become his world and that a simple woodcarving knife would become his savior in the Soviet Union and in the United States. The Little Apprentice Grabovetskiy had seen far grander wooden creations than those delightful toys. His grandfather was a furniture maker. Before the Russian Revolution, his maternal great-great grandfather was a famous redwooder (a woodworker who uses only dark woods such as Indian mahogany), who worked for the royal family in St. Petersburg, creating exquisite furniture on par with Chippendale’s. Grabovetskiy’s great-great grandfather died before he was born, and his surname was eradicated …