Question,,about writing on longbox paddles???

[Happy hooker]

• Tweet

Don't own a longbox but now want one,,have a question about maybe the style or culture of long boxes particularly the writing on paddles

If you have a short box and somebody writes on the paddle it's considered un tradeable or ruined all the writing is on the bottom of call.
On a longbox you have this beautiful nice sleek paddle and it looks like somebody went crazy on it with a Sharpe pen in most instances you would call this graffiti. Not trying to demean or insult anybody's work in fact just the opposite you've crafted this beautiful work of art and function paddle and then it gets handwritten on why not put the writing on the bottom like a shortbox, just wondering why a lot of the longbox culture does this it seems like you obscure a beautiful piece of woodworking. Like to hear some opinions,background.

[Pettit877]

• Tweet

I personality do all my writing on the bottom of my shorts and longs.  The reason I do, is that I like to show of the beauty of the wood I am building with. With that said it is a huge pain in the butt.  I will put it simply this way...draw 2 parallel lines 1" apart, now write 2-3 sentences without the words running over the lines and all in the same size font.  Simply comes down to more space on the lid in a long box, and the base of a short is close to the same size of the lid.   

Happy Fourth of July!

Eric Pettit

[KentuckyHeadhunter]

• Tweet

I just consider it one of the many characteristics of the folk art tradition.  Longboxes were born by the many famous Missouri fence post callmakers.  I don't know who started it but Cecil Fry was doing it very early on and he probably got it from one of his mentors.  Interesting observation though and not one I have reckoned with.  I agree that less is more and the wood shouldn't have too much graffiti.  Personally I don't care if the cedar came from "East Booger Creek bottom near the foothills of Possum Holler just yonder from Bourbon Mountain and down the road a piece from Granny's Apple Orchard".    But I get it.  It's tradition and woodworkers take pride in sharing the source of their material especially if it was personally harvested.  Makes it more personal and shows the effort that went into the birth of the call. 
I'm just waiting for someone to write...."Poplar is from Home Depot and Walnut is from a Walnut tree".   

[SteelerFan]

• Tweet

I'm just waiting for someone to write...."Poplar is from Home Depot and Walnut is from a Walnut tree".