Nice visual treat.
Happened on a display at SFO of a collection of the late Don Takayama’s wooden boards on loan from the SF Museum. Beautiful stuff. 
“Big Guns”
DT’s homage to the historical shapes
Something about wooden strip water crafts. B)
sing
Beautiful! Thanks Sing!
Pretty sweet.
Gorgeous workmanship. Almost too pretty to get wet.
Funny how we humans are so drawn to the aesthetics of a well-shaped, nicely-surfaced (either finished or unfinished) piece of wood.
It doesn’t even matter what it is, only that the form be of wood. The fact that people make such items to have function as well as form only adds to the beauty.
@pikabike said:
Funny how we humans are so drawn to the aesthetics of a well-shaped, nicely-surfaced (either finished or unfinished) piece of wood.It doesn’t even matter what it is, only that the form be of wood. The fact that people make such items to have function as well as form only adds to the beauty.
I agree. Case in point; I have been a shooter for 50 years and to me, a deeply blued rifle with a finished walnut stock is beautiful. The " black guns" popular now are ugly.
Hey Chuck,
Did you build the SOF. Like the hatches. Are there bulkhead walls and how were these made?
sing
Actually storing this for a friend. There are bulkheads. It is a wood strip based on a Greenland design. Would not even attempt this
I still prefer wood cross country skiis. Here are the crown jewel pairs from my collection, all dating from the late 60’s to mid-70’s. As with kayaks, each has its unique function and performance characteristics. And though I do have a couple of pairs of modern waxless fishscale skis I use when the snow is goopy, I much prefer the woodies’ pine tar bases and application of temperature- and surface-specific waxes to get them to do what I want when the snow is prime. And they are sooooo pretty.
I don’t know of any major ski maker who still makes these labor and time intensive wooden skis but there has been a resurgence, as with kayaks, in individual craftspeople producing them to order and even offering workshops for DIY’ers to make their own. The tools and technologies are similar to that of wooden strip and SOF boats and paddles (and surfboards!): laminating, steam bending, shaping.
Left to right (all made in Norway, mostly of hickory with compressed hickory “lignostone” edges):
These are all mounted with modern Salomon SNS bindings and have been used within the past two seasons. I keep them displayed on a wall in a corner of my living room. along with my cedar Greenland paddles.
.
Like rocker with boats, camber in skis affects the performance. You can see the distinct differences among the 3 pairs, base to base:
@willowleaf said:
Like rocker with boats, camber in skis affects the performance. You can see the distinct differences among the 3 pairs, base to base:
Nice! Yes. like the curvy wood of those skis. Have a set of back country skis up in ME. As much they look nice, the waxing and skins got to be a pain, especially as we seem to get more variable snow/ice conditions than I remember getting in the past. The utility of fiberglass waxless skis works much better in southern New England where traditions can varied so drastically in a day.
Another really curvy wood implement that I love is actually my trout fishing nets. The plastic, metal and fiberglass models don’t compare to a good net made of maple or oak, especially if there is judicious incorporation of burl in the handle (like string’s mention of gun stocks - my over/under and side by side shotguns both have beautiful walnut stock).
sing
OMG. Now I am reminded of my vintage recurve bow… Maybe I am just addicted to wood. 
Now I am really missing my original Nordic ski exerciser.
But, it’s great to be able to experience appreciative memories,
in substituation of actuality.
And that old sweet Sawyer canoe is still parting the waters, somewhere…
Here is picture of my wood CC skis by Northland. Decal dates it between 1929 and 34. I am fascinated by their adjustable binding plates. Missing the rest of bindings though. 7 feet long and made of ash. Found this pair on side of road trash pile here in Beaufort SC where snow toys rarely see use.
Wow, that’s a neat vintage pair. Those bindings were usually attached with leather straps that buckled over the toes of the boots and plus a metal cable loop that went around a groove above the sole welt behind the heel…
