Jim Dornhecker has an eye for engraving and carving anything from guns to moose antlers. And for the most part, the craftsman says his trade is “almost all self taught.”
“A lot of what I do, I either taught myself how to do or I read it in a book,” Dornhecker said.
Looking at some of Dornhecker’s works, it could come as a surprise he hasn’t always considered himself an artist.
“In fourth grade, I drew a picture of a ship and I really worked hard on that thing,” he explained. “There was an art contest and I asked my teacher if I should enter my drawing. She told me it wasn’t good enough so I tore the thing up.”
Hundreds of drawings later, Dornhecker said dissatisfaction still takes over every now and then and he finds himself tearing up his creations. He admitted his wife, Joanne, hides some of his artwork that she likes so it won’t face the same fate as the drawing of the ship years ago.
“Maybe that is why I carve out of wood,” he joked. “I can’t rip that up.”
All joking aside, Dornhecker is noticeably proud of more of his work than he’s not. Throughout the Dornheckers’ Shorewood Drive home is a display of more than 40 years of engravings and woodcarvings.
Several one-of-kind decoys carved from wood can be found scattered around the home, while locked away are intricate engravings the gunsmith has added to his collection of firearms.
Dornhecker said the passion for what he does really began when he realized what a distraction it could be.
“I have scar tissue on my spine and it’s like a permanent injury,” he said. “When I started to carve and engrave, it took my mind off the pain.”
An early interest
In his early adulthood, Dornhecker served on the fire department in Boise, Idaho. The fresh-out-of-the-U.S. Navy fireman recalls buying a gun for about $10 and “the stock was just crap.”
Luckily, the captain of the fire department was a gunsmith on the side and gave Dornhecker some pointers of the trade. Dornhecker’s interest was sparked.
“I don’t know how many times I took that stock apart,” he said.
While he was learning new things about the art of a gunsmith, a friend of Dornhecker’s asked him if he could carve wildlife.
“I told him I could do anything,” Dornhecker said with a chuckle. “The next day, he was at my door at 8 a.m. I remember thinking I either had to put up or shut up.”
Dornhecker was given a moose antler as his canvas and as he worked on the project, his Dremel power tool kept breaking.
“That is when I started to explore new tools,” he said. “Great. Now I’m a tool-aholic.”
Advanced art
In 1978, Dornhecker took his enjoyment of engraving and putting special touches on guns to a new level. He began his own business, JLD Gunsmith Supplies Inc., to see if the new venture would prove profitable.
During the years of his business, he admitted that he engraved a lot of gun stocks that have turned out “just beautiful” and others that “were all wrong.”
But with a shake of his head he said, “Actually, there was nothing really wrong with them, I just didn’t like them, so I wouldn’t charge the customer.”
Perfect or not, Dornhecker noted that each piece of work has some kind of story to it.
“That is what is fun about creating the picture,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t know how the story turns out.”
Dornhecker said he is unsure of what his specialty is and he is open to trying anything as long as it interests him.
“Bringing something alive when I construct or draw it is one of the hardest things to do,” Dornhecker concluded. “But when I bring it to life, that’s the highest thing I can do. Artists can make any number of things and when even one of them comes alive — that is where the real talent is.”
