TOM BYERS' DARK, DUSTY CANOE WORKSHOP IS CLUTTERED WITH EVERYTHING EXCEPT POWER TOOLS. The accomplished backwoods builder shapes immaculate birchbark craft by axe, knife, awl, and bit brace.

Perhaps no single item in the traditional economy combines finesse and craftsmanship better than the birch-bark canoe - historically the principal mode of transportation and cargo-freighting for ...