Carving Jack – A Full-Time Career

Carving Jack-O-Lanterns began as an Irish tradition on Samhain (a Celtic festival which later merged with All Saints Day to become Halloween). Once in America, Irish immigrants quickly found pumpkins were easier and larger to carve than turnips for this ancient art form.

Folklore holds that Stingy Jack is responsible for tricking the Devil into changing his appearance before releasing him back into society, leaving him doomed to roam the Earth forever carrying his lantern.

Early Life and Education

Jack-o’-lanterns have become one of the iconic images associated with Halloween, yet how did this tradition start? It all begins with Irish folklore.

Stingy Jack was a trickster who deceived and teased Satan himself. He managed to lure Satan into climbing up into a tree for fruit only to trap him there in his transfigured form and promise that they wouldn’t bother or take away his soul for over 10 years!

On Samhain (the Celtic New Year), people in Ireland and Scotland began carving turnips, potatoes or rutabagas into frightening faces on Samhain to scare away Stingy Jack and other ghostly spirits. Immigrants to America later brought this tradition with them, discovering pumpkins were much softer and easier to carve.

Professional Career

Nothing symbolizes Halloween more than a beautifully carved jack-o’-lantern, an annual tradition which has gone from being just another decoration to becoming an international industry with competitions and festivals dedicated solely to it. And for some enthusiasts, carving pumpkins even becomes their full-time career!

Ryan Wickstrand of New Haven, Connecticut, is one such professional pumpkin carver. He operates Zombie Pumpkins – an online store providing stencils and carving tools aimed at creating user-friendly jack-o’-lantern designs – which offers user-friendly solutions.

The Flexcut Carvin’ Jack multi-tool is an ultraportable multi-tool designed specifically for woodcarvers. At 4 1/4″, its closed length can accommodate six blades that lock open or closed and include a scorp, straight gouge, chisel, hook, and detail knife – along with a Flexcut Slipstrop and leather belt sheath for storage and safekeeping. Both right-handed and left-handed models of this pocket-sized multi-tool are available for optimal cutting in front and opposite directions.

Achievement and Honors

Pumpkins can be found dotted throughout Tyria and the Mad King’s Labyrinth during Halloween, offering opportunities to carve pumpkins for the Pumpkin Carving achievement. Interacting with one will turn it into a jack-o-lantern and advance this milestone. They often spawn near waypoints or settlements; however, pumpkins may respawn after some period. Pumpkins reset on an individual basis after some period.

Flexcut, best known for their Carvin’ Jack tools, produces multi-tools specifically tailored for woodcarvers.

Personal Life

Jack spends much of his free time welding and chainsaw carving. He enjoys spending time with family, and has participated in multiple chainsaw art shows where his works has won several awards.

Carving pumpkins for Halloween has long been an iconic tradition, with roots dating back centuries in Irish folklore. Stingy Jack, an iconic Irish trickster who made a deal with Satan that saw him bound to carry only burning coals around with him on his journeys through life is depicted as the inspiration for carving turnips into pumpkins for this ritual.

Early versions of this story involved Jack tricking Satan into changing form three or four times before finally trapping and detaining him, demanding that he promise not to bother him for an indefinite period of time. Once people realized pumpkins were much simpler to carve than turnips, people increasingly used these instead.

Net Worth

Johnny and Paradis’ youngest child is living an anonymous existence; rarely seen in public and without social media accounts; yet, according to Animated Times, he reportedly boasts an estimated wealth of US$1.5 Million.

Flexcut’s Carvin’ Jack folding multi-tool was specifically created with woodcarvers in mind. Featuring multiple sharp blades in an ergonomic and comfortable design, its use has been highly rated by users worldwide. Features of this tool include detail knife, hook knife, straight gouge, Chisel V-Scorp and Gouge Scorp; both right- and left-handed versions are available.