Waterford man carving a mark on the world 

Waterford master craftsman, John Hayes, is currently playing a starring role in a reality TV competition show in tv channel, Blaze.

The show, 'A Cut Above', is broadcast on the channel on Tuesday nights at 9pm and is also repeated on Saturdays at 11am. 

The show is available on channel 164 on a Sky Box but can also be streamed by downloading the app.

John is very well known around Waterford as the man behind Special Branch Carvings, based in Fenor. 

His skill and creativity is exemplified in his wood carvings located around the county with the Angel Tree in Fenor Church grounds being synonymous with the woodsman.

However, his world record-breaking, Dragonslayer piece - the longest ever sculpture from a single piece of wood - is on display in the Viking Triangle in Waterford City.

Speaking about the Blaze show to Waterford News & Star, John said he was delighted to be part of it all.

A re-run of the original first series in the show, he was one of 12 people worldwide to be picked to participate and that was something John took great pride in.

"It was fantastic to be part of it but to get the chance to represent your county and your country on the world stage was really nice," he said.

"This time around people are more aware of the show," said John.

"I suppose the thing about it is chainsaw carving is so new over here, especially in Ireland," he added.

"In the UK it has a little bit of a craft following but Canada, America, Germany and Japan are the main areas."
He also said it's becoming very popular in eastern Europe because skilled carpentry was something evident there down through the ages.

"What the show does is give you the chance, for the first time, to see what the world of chainsaw carving is," said John.

"In a TV format of course, to make it more entertaining for the viewer," he added.

"Normally we would have a lot more time to make a sculpture but the format of it kind of gives you an insight into taking a tree and going at it with what is normally regarded as a fairly crude machine and then creating what are pieces of art in a sense."

John went on to comment: "From that point of view is was lovely to be part of the first ever show that did that."
"Being a TV show it has an element of your X-Factors of course but to make the 12 and to represent Ireland was special," he said. 

To be picked as one of the 12 was an incredible testament to John's skill as the 12 participants in the show literally among the foremost creators of their kind in the world.

"There are probably 100,000 throughout the world and to make the 12 out of that bunch was a nice thing," said John.

"That to me was the nice thing," he added. John has been honing his skill as a chainsaw carver for 10 years now and as he said himself: "To go from the old tree in Fenor to being up in the mountains near Vancouver on this show is a good feeling."

John started out chainsaw carving here in Ireland and then went to England and competed in an international event. He finished in fourth place in that and as a result qualified to compete in America and got fourth over there too. Over the following five or six years he gradually made his way into the top 10 chainsaw carvers in the world and has remained there ever since.

"Then they put the word out they were going to make a TV show about chainsaws and people could put in their names and about 100 of us from the world scene were asked would we be interested," he said.

"They broke it down through auditions and I got told I was in the last 20 and then I was told I was in the top 12 and would be taking part."

The third episode of the show will air on Tuesday, January 21, at 9pm and will be repeated on Saturday, January 25, at 11am.