The Natural Beauty of Wooden Fins
photos and captions courtesy of JP St. Pierre
by Ken McKnight
posted 2004-09-15
Believe me brothers and sisters, no one can come to the middle point on this issue. Let's just let the experts show us the light!
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If ever a master surfaced in the midst of this maelstrom of controversy, then John Cherry is the man!
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How fitting that a guy who makes surfboard fins out of Cherry Wood (all exotic hard woods actually) would be named John Cherry. Long after his wood shop days as a Southern California youngster were over, John took his artistic wood designs to a new and more ethereal height.
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We caught up with him recently to inquire on these beautifully foiled and finished skegs to find out a little bit about him, his fins, his beads, and why all of this is so important now. (Stay tuned to future issues for more on this masterful wood artist.)
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First of all, John says, "I do not stain my fins before I glass them. It is all natural wood."
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And from there the conversation begins...
"In 1978 my little brother came over to my house in Cardiff with a board he had made. We started making surfboards because there is a lot of soul in riding something you made."
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