The edge · hand-carved
The live edge.
Most of the industry’s “live edge” is whatever the log left behind. Ours is carved: deep, deliberate undulations cut by hand into an exact board, sanded smooth, and sealed in the protective coating — one natural line on a piece that still hits its numbers to the sixteenth.
Four decisions, drawn live.
In the configurator the live edge is two chips: which long sides carry the carve — one or both — and which way it slopes, up or down. The drawing redraws with every choice, the ends stay square and exact, and the price updates as you set it. It runs on face-grain construction, where the wide board gives the carve its canvas.
Common questions
Is it bark, or a raw waney edge?
Neither. A Formhaus live edge is carved — deep, deliberate undulations cut by hand, sanded smooth, and sealed in the protective coating. It reads organic because a person shaped it, not because the log was left unfinished.
One side or both — which do I choose?
One side puts a single natural line on an otherwise exact piece — the classic desk-against-the-wall and shelf move. Both sides make the piece read fully sculptural, best where the top floats in the room and both long edges are seen.
What do slope up and slope down mean?
The carve leans one way. Slope up crests at the top face — the face reads widest and the curve catches light. Slope down crests at the underside — the face stays visually exact with a shadow line beneath. Up is the more dramatic read; down is the quieter one.
Where can I spec it?
Face-grain construction on rectangular tabletops, shelving, and counters — a natural line can't run a circle, so round tops take machined profiles instead. It replaces a machined edge profile and the two long sides are the carved ones.