Markus Füchtner wants to produce in his workshop in Seiffen like around 150 years ago. The traditionally manufactured nutcrackers have their price: more than 2,000 euros per piece.
Without electricity. Without modern machines. But with a lot of muscle power. Can this really go well? “Yes,” explains Markus Füchtner, who is out of breath from pedaling. With a little practice and better fitness it will be fine. The Seiffen entrepreneur soon wants to produce nutcrackers like they did around 150 years ago. It’s not a new marketing gimmick or anything like that, he says. Füchtner is serious. Soon even the electric light in his workshop will be switched off. Instead, he wants to use old oil lamps.
Anyone who tries out the old lathe quickly notices that it doesn’t take a lot of leg movement for the muscles to burn. The clattering technology is driven by pedalling. A belt transmits the rotation of the wooden wheel to the shaft and thus to the wood clamped in the foot-operated lathe. Multitasking is hip. So do several things at once. The turning tool in your hands should slide stably over the wood at the top, while treading evenly at the bottom. Markus Füchtner shows how it’s done. But after a few minutes he needs a longer break and is somehow glad that he can answer questions first.
Questions like these: Why is he doing this? Does he want to earn money with his old lathe? And where did he actually find her? Füchtner is someone who has often been in the limelight lately. This is also due to Wilhelm, the little nutcracker, who has visited dozens of countries around the world and recently even the universe. Wilhelm’s great success is mainly due to social media. People are sharing pictures of the mini nutcracker on the internet. Everything is done in a matter of seconds. Seen in this way, the historic lathe is almost a kind of contrasting program. According to Füchtner, he wants to understand how his ancestors once worked. It is already clear: calm and patience are the order of the day. Whoever produces a nutcracker the old-fashioned way spends a lot of time in the workshop. Because not only the turning is much more complex. If a hole is required, a hand drill is used. In the case of recesses, Füchtner uses a chisel. For his feet, he wants to use bread dough, as it used to be. And he also wants to mix the color himself.
A bit of madness is part of it, Markus Füchtner knows that. But also a business idea. He says: “There are customers who are enthusiastic about such traditionally made nutcrackers.” Of course, you shouldn’t expect perfection. “The Nutcrackers have character.” Füchtner does not want to use linden wood, but simple spruce. If the wood has a slight crack or a small knot, this is not a defect. He’s authentic on that point, too. When asked about the price, he is initially reluctant. Of course it is, he finally says, that nutcrackers cost a lot more. More than ten times the effort ultimately means ten times the price. A traditionally made nutcracker can quickly cost more than 2,000 euros. As I said, Markus Füchtner confirms that there are customers who are willing to spend such sums.
The Seiffen craftsman had heard about the lathe from a friend, which lay disassembled into individual parts in a barn in the Ore Mountains. Since he had been toying with the idea of using old technology for some time, he seized the opportunity. The lathe was assembled. Füchtner had defective parts replaced: true to the original, of course. Then it was time to practice. It took a while before he got the hang of it. It all happened very quickly until he could feel in his own muscles what his ancestors had achieved in the past. Because in the 237-year-old family business, they couldn’t just take a longer break after ten minutes.
When everything is up and running, Markus Füchtner would also like to show visitors the old craftsmanship. He wants to create an unpowered showroom in an extension by next autumn at the latest. It should become a second mainstay. Because one thing is also clear: production in a modern way will continue in parallel as usual. Füchtner doesn’t want to rely solely on his muscular strength.
