We’re lining things up for a relaxed stint in the shaping room at G&S/Custom Surf Glass. There may be an opening or two, so holler at me.
May/June
wrapping up… looking forward
Well the Feb/Mar trip was really good. Completed all my orders, and few for Bird’s Surf Shed. Special thanks to the Gordons and the amazing crew at Custom Surf Glass/G&S for making me look good. Also thanks to Bird’s Surf Shed, Stunning Foil, Greg Surf Company, Mitsven, and everyone else who continue to have faith in my shapes, and make it all possible.
We also got a good start on making our little vessel Wren our own. So more frequent trips are in the offing.
Looking forward to our next trip, likely May/June. I’ve got my order list started already, and also have lined up with Fins Unlimited to have fins produced.
Hope to see you in the lineup…
#mastsurfboards #mastskateboards #hillbillyhobo
looking toward winter 2023/24
Well things are shaping up for February and March. Boards from my fall ‘23 trip are all complete, and heading to their respective shops. In February I should have the time to shape for local stock and do customs for some folks. Please message me if you would like to be on the list.
I have also been making some hand shaped sidewalk surfers during my time here in the Midwest. These little suckers take some real time to produce, but sourcing local hardwood and shaping them has given me something rewarding to pursue while here, and skating them around the neighborhood does an old skater’s soul good. All of them so far are spoken for, but hopefully I’ll get a few more together soon.
#customsurfglass #birdssurfshed #gregsurfcompany #stunningfoil #siedwalksurfer #sandiegohandshaper #handshapedskateboard #mastsurfboards #hullsurfboard #hillbillyhull #HPH
beach or mountains? both (and prairie, and desert, the city, and…)
Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why?
Both! My wife Karen and I have spent years massaging our life to include time in both the mountains and the beach. While not exactly the yin and yang of geography, each provides different nourishment for our souls and bodies. Admittedly, Karen favors the mountains to some extent, myself the beach, but we both would hate to have to choose one or the other, and each of us could likely be happy in either. But why choose when you don’t have to. Our modified hobo existence allows for both! And just as importantly, we are blessed with a solid home base to return to when we just need to settle in, and be able to walk to our favorite coffee shop, do some baking or herbal magic for friends, and get to our yoga classes at the Y. Fortunate indeed
Fall ‘23 trip
Broke the ice yesterday with an 8’07” garbage picker. Looking forward to a long busy stay in San Diego, using the room at G&S, and having Custom Surf Glass finish my shapes. It’s always a pleasure being there and soaking up all of the history and knowledge.
#mastsurfboards #sandiegohandshaper #customsurfglass #birdssurfshed #gregsurfcompany #hullsurfboard #hillbillyhull #hph #simmons
another trip on the books
Happy to have had a successful trip, and now back and settling in. Eighteen shapes in about 21 days. A long commute and fitting in between a busy shaping room schedule made it feel like a lot, but with the help of Debbie and Eric Gordon, and the entire crew at Custom Surf Glass/G&S, I was able to complete everything I had orders for and a few for stock. Check out Bird’s Surf Shed, and Pastel Surf Shop for new mast surfboards in the near future. Thanks go out to my local friends who ordered boards, as well as Greg Surf Company in Osaka, who has supported me for several years. Also gratitude for my new friends from Tokyo. Stay tuned for new developments there.
and we’re here…
Well we have made it to San Diego. Thank you to all the family and friends along the way for making it such a great trip so far.
Stopped by Mitch’s North on the way down to Custom Surf Glass/G&S, where I’ll be spending my time shaping. It’s a great feeling, knowing all of the good folks who help make it all happen. I am grateful to them all…
ramping up…
Well, my next work trip is shaping up (pun intended) for May ’23. The new (to us) Vanagon is being massaged and readied. Orders are starting to pile up, and Karen and I are beginning to get excited.
If you are interested in a mast surfboards shape, please contact me at knsmast@gmail.com
Have a good one, and stay well. #mastsurfboards
the EDB (every day board)
mast EDB (every day board)
The second board I ever shaped was 9’01”, and became one of my most popular design threads, the EDB, or every day board. I based it on several boards I had been surfing and studying, including what I believe was a Slingerland shaped Caster branded 9’02”, and the boards that Larry Gordon was still providing to friends at Tourmaline. None of the boards that appealed to me would be considered “logs”, but in my mind were evolved single fin designs in the nine foot range. The templates were middle of the road, understated yet elegant. I then mixed in a bit of the Frye-ish bottom contours that Tom Connelly had so generously opened my eyes to. In fact, all of the older crowd at Tourmaline, including Larry Gordon, Black Mac, Bud Caldwell, etc. were supremely generous with their knowledge and aloha spirit. The fact is, that I was really just trying to shape a board for myself, for that particular spot (and more generally San Diego). I also could not afford a quiver at the time, so I needed a board that would work for me every day in the relatively mellow conditions I still prefer. So the EDB.
The first EDBs were diamond tail, for no other reason than they looked cool, and kind of split the difference between square and round pin. I went on to offer everything from diamond tails to round pin winter versions, eventually settling into a thumb type round squash stolen from a Frye Thinman owned by Island Mike that I had been admiring.
Most recently, I did a diamond tail, his second, for my friend Aaron at Pastel Surf Co. He requested that I push the tail width out a bit. Feedback from him may lead me to push the tail out on a more regular basis. The exception would of course be for the more winter oriented versions.
Either way, the EDB (every day board) is my effort to provide a decent “surfboard”, not a longboard, not a shortboard, just a surfboard.I feel like the EDB fits in with where surfboards were heading before the shortboard revolution. A board that feels like the right choice in a variety of conditions from big Cliffs to small Tourmaline.
Thanks for looking.
design threads
Those who have actually followed my shapes over the years may have noticed that the models that emerged from my rather selfish desire to shape the perfect boards for myself, have not been stagnant. They have evolved, along with my sensibilities, abilities, and knowledge of surfing and board design.
To be fair, no two hand shaped surfboards are ever identical. Even machine shapes vary depending on the final hand sanding and tuning. Even the unsung heroes at the factories (laminators, gloss and hot coat guys, sanders, fin guys, polishers) help determine the final result, each in their own way. Another factor for me though, it is my inability to shape as accurately as more experienced hand shapers. I am not one to rely on exact measurements of every aspect of the board. What consistency I achieve is sole a product of my doing each step of the shaping process the same each time. It’s an intuitive method that turns out shapes like mine because that’s just how I do it, each and every time. Often the process and what I see in front of me takes over, and in an effort to keep everything flowing and harmonious, goals and final results necessarily shift. I feel that far from being a bad thing, this reality allows for the opportunity to feel differences and learn from them, adding to the growing library of cause and effect in my mind.
Here is an example of this process at work. I was able to pull a template off an extraordinary board that I had the good fortune to come across. For my first shape that I did for a friend from this template, I tried to match the original ‘70s shape, with as good of results as I could muster at the time. It worked very well indeed, and he still has it today, close to twenty years later. The second one, I made for myself, and I foiled out nose and tail a lot, carved deep bottom contours and really knifey rails. I surfed it to death. It was wide, but the fineness of the rails and foil made it extremely sensitive (which I like), while still planing nicely. I don’t want to say my surfing is tentative, but I am certainly no power surfer, so it suited me fairly well. The third one, again for a friend, I split the difference, and it ended up the best of the three, easy and fast. It had no element that stuck out as extreme (to me anyway), and it just worked nicely in a variety of conditions. Experiments like these are excellent learning opportunities, and I try to do them whenever I can afford to.
One of the great benefits of hand shaping, is the flexibility it allows. Adjustments can be made, board by board, to improve (hopefully) any design, and back up on things that may not work out as hoped.
All of this gets me back to the point of this article. My model designations must be looked upon as an indication of the general feel and utility that one can expect from any particular model. They may vary slightly from shape to shape, but they typically retain a particular feel and purpose.
So please keep in mind that if you have a board of mine from ten or twenty years ago and want to recreate it, I am happy to give it my best shot. I will be able to give you the same vibe, but it would be a very lucky day indeed that I could produce the exact same shape. If all of this sounds like me making excuses, that’s because I am. Whether it is a good excuse or not, I leave up to you.
mast surfboards 