Where some may see just another piece of wood, Chip Knedlik sees potential.
Whether as a table, the neck of his next banjo or even an urn for his father’s ashes, Knedlik always has a vision for his next project.
“I can look at a piece of wood and see what it wants to be,” Knedlik said. “I can look at a piece and look at the grain, the pattern, the way it moves. And if I want to make something out of that piece of wood, I can determine what’s the best way to go at it.”
Knedlik, 54, is an artisan woodworker based in West Point, who has spent more than 30 years mastering the craft. Since starting in 1994 with basic wood whittling, he has sharpened his craft creating more than 2,000 instruments, utensils, tables, pens, countertops and other items.
While he may not have realized it at first, Knedlik said woodworking – along with learning to play 28 instruments – helped him to navigate nearly 13 years of sobriety.
Growing up in Saginaw, Michigan, Knedlik said his parents pushed him to try various hobbies like painting, playing sports and participating in his high school band.
“My dad … had been an engineer (and had) three-dimensional thinking,” Knedlik said. “… That’s why I can see things from multiple angles. … And my mom, on top of being an English teacher, had been an artist. … One person led me to be creative, and the other person led me to take that creativity and put it into action.”
In 1978, Knedlik and his family moved to Decatur, Alabama, for his father’s new job with General Motors. The family spent about 11 years there before Knedlik’s mother felt called to become a preacher and moved the family to Falkville in 1989.
Knedlik said the challenge of his mother not being accepted in a leadership role by her church’s congregation, along with difficulties making friends in town, contributed to his descent into drug and alcohol abuse.
“(I was) ostracized in school (and) didn’t fit in,” he said. “One of those people that was always the outcast, always the little guy in class being picked on by everybody. Never played well enough in sports to go anywhere, (and) never was great enough in music to make it professionally.”
In 1990, Knedlik dropped out of high school and left home, spending several years hitchhiking to cities like New Orleans and Birmingham while continuing to drink and take drugs.
It wasn’t until 2013 after moving to West Point to be closer to his parents that Knedlik got the wake-up call he needed after being arrested for carrying drugs during a traffic stop.
The road to recovery
Knedlik joined Celebrate Recovery Golden Triangle, a Christian 12-step recovery program in the area, which is where he met his first sponsor, Paul Owen. Owen not only guided Knedlik toward sobriety, but he also taught him how to craft the neck of his first banjo.
In 2019, Knedlik crafted his second with leftover wood from an urn he made for his father, who died of cancer. It was that same banjo that Knedlik played during his father’s memorial service.
“After I got it done and I made that neck, I don’t know what was harder (between) making the urn, knowing that it was for him, or playing a medley of his favorite songs at his memorial after he died,” Knedlik said.
Now, nearly 13 years later, Knedlik is still playing that banjo whenever he feels in Starkville, Columbus or West Point for anyone willing to listen, including his sponsors and accountability partners at Celebrate Recovery.
Along the way Knedlik became a sponsor and group leader for the organization, an achievement he could have never imagined while going through addiction.
Raymond Woods, ministry leader with Celebrate Recovery, said Knedlik has been one of his most important group leaders because “he doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks it.”
“He’s consistent, and he’s there every week. If he misses, you know something happened,” Woods said. “… People come in and just cling to him because they know he’s a straight up guy.”
Knedlik said one day he hopes to open a woodworking studio in West Point where those in recovery can come and learn from him to find a channel for their recovery.
“That would be a dream for me to help other people get better through my ability to teach them to do something that … they’ll carry on for the rest of their life,” Knedlik said. “I like being an inspiration for others, and I’m hoping that my craft can inspire others to be involved in that.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
