the last blackwood deer call

[wabi]

It's been frustrating to see the quality go down and the price go up on african blackwood turning squares over the past few years. I used to be able to make deer calls and sell them for the same (or very slightly higher) prices as calls made of other woods & laminates, but the past couple years it has been almost impossible to find blackwood fit to turn a call out of. Last year I ordered enough blackwood to make a few calls and if my memory serves me correctly I had only one turn out to be good enough to offer for sale.

I decided I wasn't going to buy any more blackwood or even try to make deer calls from it anymore. It's hard to work with and at today's prices and lack of quality it's just not a good option for calls. High prices and low quality just isn't my idea of good business.

Yesterday I was sorting through my supplies and found one last blackwood turning square I had thrown in with the rest of my natural wood supply and forgot about after all the frustration of turning calls only to find they were more suited for firewood than for offering for sale.
I decided to give it a try. Either way it would no longer taunt me - it would either be a deer call or firewood!
The grain was just a bit coarser than I like (the fine grain blanks I used to get contain a natural oil that polishes like glass), but it turned out fairly good.

Not glass-like smoothness, but good enough to use to call deer with.

I like the looks and sound of it well enough to use it myself, so it's not going on the "trading post". I don't plan on making any more blackwood calls so I'll probably just keep this one for the guy who usually ends up with a patched up reject hanging from his neck - ME.

[xcaliber]

She's pretty too! Nice work Mike.

[maine hunter]

That's a sweet looking call!!! If you decide to sell it let me know!!!

[Sandman]

Very nice craftsmanship~!

[agingcrossbower]

You brought out its best Mike. Looks Great!!

[vixenmaster]

Fine lookin call you made Mike

[JUDGE]

Very fine looking call . Whish I could afford one like that.

[RexKay]

Wow! Very nice! That's some beautiful work Mike.

[Sliver]

I really like the Blackwood call I bought from you a few years ago.... The Cocabola call is not bad either

[mr meat]

Great looking call!

[wabi]

Sliver,
That's the blackwood I enjoyed working with!
You can probably tell from the pics of your call compared to my latest one how much smoother (finer grain and "oilier") that wood was.
Just a guess, but my best guess is that a few years ago the wood was probably from "old growth" timber and today's wood is being grown under conditions to promote fast growth as the wood has no doubt become more desirable for commercial uses. The wood I've bought in the past couple years is much harder to turn (wants to "chatter" on the lathe) and doesn't seem to have nearly as much of the natural oil the wood for years past had.
Guess it's just another sign I'm getting old. It seems like every day I can pick up something and remember how much better it was "back in the good old days".
Just today I picked up a "Snickers" bar at the grocery store and had to pay almost a dollar for a 5¢ candy bar that was only half the size of what I used to buy!

[Sliver]

[quote="wabi"] It seems like every day I can pick up something and remember how much better it was "back in the good old days".
Just today I picked up a "Snickers" bar at the grocery store and had to pay almost a dollar for a 5¢ candy bar that was only half the size of what I used to buy! [/quote


That is so true ,,, I know the feeling