I am absolutely STOKED to the gills

Howdy Brownfish,
Had my first handplane session ever today. I crafted the plane in the picture from an old canoe paddle. It was made in haste and I will be trimming the tail before going out again. I dig the way it turned out though, sort of a mock vintage look.

Thank you for the great sites,links, and inspiration.
You helped me find my way back to The Source of Stoke...honestly I had almost forgotten it all.

I was born and raised on Jacksonville Beach and lived next to/in the water for 19 years.
Life's circumstances have kept me out of the water and off "my" beach for years. I surfed a lot growing up but not very well. I was always more comfortable IN the water. I'm still a damn good bodysurfer. I came across Brownfish on the web after a rare bodysurfing session a couple weeks ago.
I knew I had to give hand planing a try.

Today I did...and tomorrow I start on my new plane!

I'm SO sore, embarrassingly sunburned and exhausted. The sets rolling in off of Hurricane Danielle where closing out on my head most of the day.

But for the first time in far to long,

I am absolutely STOKED to the gills. I gave your web address to a few folks on the beach. It will be awhile before I can order a Brownfish but I will send as much love your way as possible. I figure some people will be intrigued.

And look for a NE Florida bodysurf/handplane blog soon.

Thanks
Let the Goodness Grow,
Rick

p.s. that driftwood plane looks awesome. like weathered old cypress....which is on my list of materials to try out.

Nick's your Buddy

I've always liked the name Nick.  It was one of our top picks to name one of our sons.  Even before this perfect John Cusack clip in "The Sure Thing":


As I said in a post last week.  Nick has been a great customer.  Also he has been a great brother.  After his recent trip to Hawaii, he left his Barrel Rider Handplane for his brother in order to share the goodness.  So, to replace that handplane, he ordered a Pinliner.  He wanted it to look somewhat like a piece of driftwood, a little oxidized grey type of driftwood.  Since the bench that I use to take most of my handplane pictures, looked like that, I did my best to try and match it.  Colors and wood rarely come out exactly as planned.  There really isn't a great science to it.  You do your best and that is what you get.  Personally I wish the grain pattern would've had some cool twists and turns, but, it didn't.  Nonetheless, I think it came out pretty nice and that Nick will be happy with it.  He has now run the gammit.  Has owned all the different models, and his bodysurfing/handplaning has obviously improved dramatically.  Hawaii was probably a huge asset to his future.  Seeing what those guys can do at Point Panic, in person, can really etch some possibilities into your mind.  I'm glad he had that opportunity, and hope that he can put his new Pinliner through some of those same paces.

Colorful Grain

I've said this a few times before, when you pick up a hunk of Paulownia, you'll never know what kind of grain pattern you are gonna get after you are done shaping it out. Sometimes it's kinda boring, but, sometimes it's just spectacular. After making a couple hundred handplanes, I think I've finally gotten down how to truly bring the grain out when finishing the planes up. This blue one is probably my favorite grain pattern that i've ever had the honor of laying my hands on. And, the green, well, you know, everyone loves the green. These two handplanes are part of my stock, as I'm trying to keep ahead a bit. They are available for purchase in the Brownfish Handplane On-line Store

Strap on, Strap off

When I started making handplanes, one of my main goals was to make a strap that was functional , but also blended with the design.  I always liked the idea of a hole in the board to hold onto.  Well, let me re-phrase that, I always liked the clean look of a handplane with the hole.  Something so basic.  The aesthetics are so pleasing.  A piece of wood and some fins.  Nothing else.  Very natural, not quite as just some fins, but, you get my point.  The problem is, function has to fit into the equation somewhere.  I think the best function of the hole-handle, is that you can switch hands very quick and easily.  Other than that, I am having a problem with any other functional attributes.  Is it functional to have your hand in a fist when bodysurfing?  Does anyone bodysurf that way?  Everyone that I have ever seen in my life, has always had thier palm open, and used that open palm as a planing surface.  This is not bringing up the hydrodynamics of having your fingers go through the board, and hang out in the planing surface.  Most that make these hole-handle type handplanes, and many that use them, claim it has no effect.  I'm just not a believer.  It is probably just a more of a naturalist approach.  I would personally always pick function.   A handplane should be an extension of that open palm when bodysurfing.  Another counter to the hole-handle theory, is that we don't swim with a closed palm.  Michael Phelps could probably beat me swimming with closed palms, but, I'm not counting on getting out in the line-up by swimming that way.  A light handplane, with a good comfortable strap system, allows you to swim somewhat naturally, with an open palm.  I pretty much put my hand it strap, and swim out to the line-up.  It's pretty natural and feel like a paddle on your hand.  This makes getting out and getting around the line-up much easier.   To make or buy a handplane with a strap or a hole is your choice.  I just hope to share my theory, and would love to hear any counter theory's.


An extremely well designed and beautiful Hole-handle Handplane

Another Option

Action

Nick has been one of my best customers to date. I think the first handplane he ordered from me was within the first 20 or so that I made. He originally got ahold of me after having owned another brand of handplane, one of the hole-handle models. It was quite a large plane. He ordered the Brownfish Model. He loved the handle, but, felt that he wasn't getting the planing effect that he was getting with the larger plane. He was the catalyst for making the early version of El Gigante. So, I made him a larger plane. Over the last year he has progressed through the El Gigante, to the Brownfish, then recently purchased a Barrel Rider. He is having a blast with it, as you can see in the pics from his recent trip to Hawaii.

BrownFish Handplane On-line Store

It has been a long time coming. I've been wanting to be able to put up a click and buy store since I started making these things. I was never caught up enough to have stock. Last week I put in alot of hours, and I mean alot, and I finally caught up.  I was able to make some handplanes for stock. Now you can peruse the Brownfish On-line store in search of that perfect plane, click/buy, and it will be to you in a few days, if in the continental US. If the handplane you are looking for isn't available in the store, I am still happy to make it for you. Just send me an e-mail and I'll get it rolling. Here is my first offering, should be putting some more in the store first part of next week. You can visit the store at http://brownfishhandplanes.bigcartel.com/ and in the future can alway link through my http://www.brownfishhandplanes.com/ site.

Sacred Craft Pics

Sacred Craft went real well. Lots of traffic. Many that came from ASR downstairs said that it looked like a ghost town in comparison. Anyways about it, it was fun. Thanks to everyone that stopped by, both in person and spirit. G

Hey, is that Malibu Barbie's boyfriend, Cardiff Ken?

I Like Crunch Time

If I've got two weeks to do a big project, I'll almost always wait til the last minute to put it in to high geer. Rarely will I be sitting on the last day, sipping a beer, content that everything is perfect. Something about that stimulus, that makes me thrive. I like the feeling. I like the challenge. Here is the progress from yesterday. 20+ handplanes shaped in the last 2 days. A few ready for straps. Time spent in the hobbit hole late into the evening, and early morning has paid off. It's time to mix some stains, and put on my clear coating suit. Still got to fire up the sewing machine to make some straps and covers, but, that can wait til midday. Should have about 12 handplanes available for purchase at Sacred Craft tomarrow and Sunday. So, if you want some instant gratification and not have to wait the typical 2-4 weeks for me to make you one, then they will be thier for the offering.

The Craft that is Sacred

Sacred Craft this weekend at the San Diego Convention Center.  I will be thier with a grip of handplanes to show and also a few to sell.  I will be debuting my upgraded strap system.  Lots of Goodness to be had including the infamous Chocolate Chip cookies the Brownfish label has seemed to become attached to.  Saturday from 10-6 and Sunday from 10-4.  Hope to see you their.  Here is a pic of some of the handplanes I will be showing.

Ahh Hell, I told the kids to hurry up and finish these things. Looks like I gots a lot of work the next 48 hours.

Somewhat of a Miracle

Yea, I know, I know, I've been lagging a bit lately on the handplane front.  Both in updating the goodness blog and also on making handplanes.  This last two weeks have pretty much been focused on other factors.  I'll try and make a long story short, but, you know me:

My wife was adopted from Korea when she was 3, to nice, happy go lucky americans.  They could almost be classified as more white than me.  They are/were good people/parents.  She is truly lucky to be taken in and raised by them.  She has known nothing of her biological parents her whole life.  She always kinda figured that if they hadn't found her by now, then, well, it just wasn't meant to be.  Hell, they were on the other side of the world.  She never really looked for them, always figuring that if they were interested in her, then they would try to find her.

About 2 weeks ago she recieved a letter from Pearl S Buck, the adoption agency that handled the US side of the Adoption.  It stated that her father was looking for her and that she had no obligation to respond. Pearl S. Buck isn't allowed to release any information without her permission.  The letter stated that he lived an hour away from us.  That he migrated from Korea 26 years ago.  That she had a brother that was a few years older than her.  After some thought, she decided that if she didn't respond, she would always wonder. 

Fast forward to last week.  We went up to meet her Father and Brother.  Apparently he had been looking for her most of her life.  He had some pictures of her up til she was about 8 years old.  Actually, it was a small album.  Pictures her adoptive parents had sent to the agency.  When he migrated here, he used the backgrounds of those pictures to try and find the area she was living, trips to UTAH and whatnot, because people told him that those types of houses were located their.  She was actually on the outskirts of Chicago, when the photos were taken.  Social Services in Korea have strict laws regarding releasing information on adoption.  There is a time limit to protect the adopted child.  Apparently that time limit had finally been fulfilled.  The information was released on what agency held the information to connect my wife with her family.  So the meeting, which we thought was going to take a few hours, turned into an all day and night event.  Then more on the weekend.  Her biological dad seems to be a great man.  Her brother, even bettter.  Her brothers daughter is 20, and said to be the spitting image of her.  It's funny, cause, all the time I've known my wife, she's always talked about wanting to meet a family member that beared some resemblence. 

Lots of tears, lots of questions answered.  All good.  Pretty much the best scenario that could have unfolded.  We now have a whole nether family.  That has been living an hour away for 16 years.  There is a definate language barrier.  But, now, Rebecca is truly motivated to learn her native tongue.

So, Yea, I've been lagging on my handplane duties.  I am sorry to those of you that I might of missed my deadline with, and also sorry to those of you who have gone into SURFY SURFY to check them out.  They are getting a grip today.

This was posted was with the permission of my wife.