FickleBoards

Welcome aboard Mr. Noland!

2012-02-13T17:25:00.001-08:00

Fickleboards is stoked to welcome Mark Noland to our ranks, as "test-pilot-in chief".

Rest assured that our classic shapes are under his watch, and are old-school-gnartrooper approved.

beard knife

2012-01-11T18:44:00.000-08:00

Here's the Old Man, on a board he made by hand, skating a ramp he built the week before christmas... and what is that on his hat? Is that sawdust?

yeah, that's Old Lew. From the workshop to the front slasher on your miniramp... nice beard knife, too.

The sound of fickleboards...

2012-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

just listen to the audio on this one. that's what we're all about, right there...
that, and we also season, hand-roll, long-press, long-cure and hand cut all of our boards right in the workshop right here in cincinnati, for you to destroy.

please destroy a fickle board today.

when weston was fifteen...

2012-01-02T13:33:00.001-08:00

toys r us kid for life.

this is weston's sponsor me vid...

2012-01-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

weston's clips from fledits on Vimeo.

the kooky blunts in the fake death box in the almost unskateable peanut... that was what tipped us off to the fact that wes isn't trying to be anybody but himself when it comes to his skating...

rampasaurus rex and weston

2012-01-02T07:28:00.001-08:00

Mr. Noland

2012-01-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

All of us here at FickleBoards can't say enough good about Mr. Mark Noland. At somewhere around 53 years old, he's skated since the seventies or so... thirty+ years!
...and Mark knows a thing or two about what matters when it comes to keeping it real and keeping it fun, kiddos.

Keep em peeled for more from Mr. Noland, as we endeavor to get him in the van for a trip south this month.

a little treat from the summertime.

2012-01-01T18:06:00.001-08:00

seriously, is there anything funner than all this transition to skate around here? Centerville Ohio has nailed it, with a complement to the DC skate plaza over there. nonstop flow, except for scooter kids and bikers... but we make a hole where we need to.

2012-01-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

a sampling from boe parries' footage of us taken one day last trip to woody's in SAV. Woody's is a great example of the real deal in skate shops... with a full-service park, complete with DIY concrete on the back lot, they are keeping the home fires burning!

we will be leaving here, headed south again with a load of Fickle/Woody's collab graphic decks this January 12th...

till then, don't let anybody push you around.

Family Foto

2011-12-27T07:40:00.001-08:00

Mark Nolan, David Faul, Old Lew, and Shawn Andrews at Beech Acres Park in Cincinnati.

Send us a pic for our growing family album!

What Old Lew just built

2011-12-24T10:17:00.000-08:00

Old Lew just put this in for Fickle's friend Matt. 12 feet wide in a 175 year old barn. Fun stuff going on with Fickle, every day.

continuing work... new concave

2011-12-20T03:46:00.000-08:00

our new mold is in. we're beginning production on it and it has some kick!
a bit steeper in the tail, with a bit deeper pocket
a bit steeper in the nose; super responsive
and deep, curved lateral concave!

we aren't sure how to release it to you on the store, so we'll be getting that worked out over the next week, but if you'd like to destroy it, put in an order with an email!

Also, we have reworked the Panhead 149. It is now the shape you saw in green down there a few days back. but it comes in the standard please destroy it shark graphic.

please destroy!

Another Victim!

2011-12-17T17:32:00.001-08:00

Aaaw yeah! This guy is trouble on wheels and one of our absolute favorites at Woody's.
Now his wheels are proudly wearing a fickle top! Just destroy it!

about us: where we are

2011-12-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

cincinnati/america
period.

Our workshop is located in a basement of a big big house that serves as the owner's home, hospitality HQ, and houses the offices of FickleBoards. The house used to be a funeral home, so we're talking pretty big here.
That workshop is located in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati, future home of Cincinnati's first truly URBAN skate park. finally the kids of the urban centers will have a skate park within reach.

Our private skateboarding facility (for team, staff and members only) is located in The West End neighborhood of Cincinnati. That's where our "ramp room" is.

We say cincinnati/america, because our boards are actually MADE here.
so are our shirts
so are our hats
so are our stickers, now...
right here in our workshop
with our hands.

So when you see a fickleboard, you will never wonder whether it was made in china, america, mexico, or somewhere across the rockies.
you will not be buying the "bait and switch" line that our boards are made in america, just because the graphic was made here.

These are made by hand in time-honored, small-batch tradition!
Hand-rolled glue
Long Press Times
Long curing after pressing
Small batch distributed.

Sincerely.

the boards

2011-12-15T03:18:00.000-08:00

deep concaves
solid finishes
simple, yet epic, graphics
hand-handled
pressed over 4 hours
cured 4 days before any cutting or sanding.

we give the glue the time it needs to really season out.

the result? a board that you can destroy with your skateboarding! What did you think we were making?
ironically, these typically wear much much better than kevlar-reinforced gimmick boards, or boards that are produced/stored/shipped in temperatures in excess of 100F.

they are not perfect and you may enjoy finding and pointing out some small "inclusions" in your board's manufacturing. yes. enjoy that... and once you're done, go put a dent in it shredding! put your own "inclusions" in it!

No matter what board you end up skating, get out there and get a piece today!

completes

2011-12-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

if you want to buy a complete board from FickleBoards, we can do that easily.
Just email us and we'll fill the order with a PayPal invoice.

All completes are $150.00 and come with Indy Trucks (either 149 or 139), Bones Wheels (SPF's around 56mm), and Indy bearings and hardware. Fickle Stencil grip, too.

That setup is made to last. Period. It'll turn and slide properly no matter what. That. Is. a. skateboard.

Just please make sure you destroy it with your skating and don't just sit there looking at it. we know that's tempting.

how to buy a fickle board

2011-12-15T03:06:00.000-08:00

There are a few good ways to go...

1. Click on the blue voodoo doll. right over there=====>

2. email us at fickleboards@gmail.com

3. call us at 513-655-sk81 and talk to the Aging Lifer.

then get out there and wreck whatever you end up skating, because skateboards are for destroying!

Not a Skate Shop. but here to help.

2011-12-14T18:06:00.000-08:00

a lot of people call us every day looking to buy something from a skate shop.

First off, let me say how great it is that you're looking for the skate shop.
Second, let me say how much we enjoy helping you find what you're looking for.
Third, let me say that whatever you're looking for, we are honored that you've called and just want to help you find it.

and for those of you who have already been to a skate shop or two and are looking for the "friendlies" we are glad to help you find out who can help you get what you want.

But

we are a workshop, where boards are Long-pressed and Long-cured in an ancient and time-honored, traditional process of skateboard-making. we are not a retail location.

Somehow, we ended up on the top of the list on Google for skate shops, and we're okay with that if it means that you get someone friendly to help you out--and we will!

But don't drive here because the warehouse is in West End at the intersection of crack and crank, and the workshop is in northside in the basement of the Sidewinder Cafe (not really). Shoot us a call and we'll turn off the sander and take your calls and help you out, because...

At FickleBoards, WE LOVE SKATEBOARDING and skateboarders. All we want is for you to shred!

Thanks for your calls! We are here for you!

Fresh flow...

2011-12-11T11:49:00.001-08:00

Ben is heading out on another fresh prototype... Testing a green finish with white stencils, too.

This one is a tester from a new mold that we will press from a bit this month. We will see what we think.

This is us...

2011-12-10T08:35:00.001-08:00

Sunshine took this one in Savannah. Facebook gold.

from portland maine/america

2011-12-08T06:53:00.001-08:00

Old Lew reporting live from Portland, Maine/america, where I'm slated to have a meetup with Tom Noble of whoskates skate park design and build... for lunch and a possible session at the Portland skate park. WhoSkates is on as the preliminary designers for the Northside Skate Park: Cincinnati's first truly Urban skate park. Hood kids need something to come up on. Can't stick all the concrete in the 'burbs, cincinnati!

here i am with my new plank... its finally dry here and i'm going out to shred today for at least a minute, between high-powered lunches with high-level industry players...

meanwhile, back in cincinnatiamerica, Ben is living classic skate-life at ficklehouseteentwenty,

back on planet cincinnatiamerica, ben is pressing his work ethic and getting mass life and skating done. here's a shot of the "life' part.

...and here's a shot of the skating part.

Sunshine is holding down the home front, keeping Rocko warm, and getting pics and footy locked in for your entertainment!

sunshine keeps rocko warm at ficklehouse...
the dog has virtually NO HAIR, and we are shopping for canine-clothes.
meanwhile, its all about snuggling.

here's that new lens... clips are stacking up now.

Weston is still pretty much a kid... though he has a man-sized shred, he is only with us in cincinnatiamerica for weekends about twice a month, during school vacations, and on our trips...

this fall he went to the Georgia Bowlriders with Sunshine, where they enjoyed a great time with our longtime friend, Josh Viles. Josh is spending his days skating with bigwigs and name dropping. Our guys enjoyed watching him get his shred on at higher and higher levels. Josh crushes.

here's weston in what appears to be some sort of classroom. stay in school, kids.

here we have a pic from the way home on our last trip to SAVannah. this was in south carolina. Playground ramp.

we are unrolling/unraveling new stuff all the time. Whether its a diy skate spot, building a good winter in our keypark/ramp room, working up a new mold or concave, re-designing our presses for higher yield, and easier use... we are always up to our necks in plotting a course for keeping skateboarding about what its about... for you, that should always be a FuN diversion from the grind of life!

for now, we are more than content that we have rolled out the sickest concave and highest quality laminate that we've ever skated in all our lives! at the very base level, these are the boards WE WANTED all along!

Boe Parries in Savannah says that our concave should be named "ManCave", because its so burly. Its not just that its deep, but that its deeper in the places where the stress is highest. How did we do that? Like pretty much everything else we do--accidentally! Man-Cave was first hand-carved in a block of plaster, when the workshop was still in diapers.

speaking of accidents... it was ManCave that kept wes from having one on his way through this stand-up-on-it 5-0 grind. Fickle ManCave to the rescue.

here's a rare pic of Boe Parries at Woody's Skate Park and skateshop. we were there for about a week. Boe runs things down there, really really well. True Legit Lifer: Boe Parries.

But its no accident that our wood is Long-Pressed and Long-Cured before it hits the knives for shaping and sanding... It is no accident that we are unplugged from the same old same old... and it is no accident that we've done it all while SKATING WITH YOU, daily.

As for Matt Simpson, the Other Nut at FickleBoards, he's all over the place on his day job, taking the Fickleboards lifestyle with him... that is, the skateboarding lifestyle. the guy travels a LOT. If you've met him out there in places unknown, send us a facebook message about how he's behavin!

matt at the playground ramp in SC. grown man who colors in his shoes...

And fickleboards isn't just about king Lewcif, Ben, Sunshine, and Matt! There is also sister Carrie on street-destruction, Ian Brown on all our industrial development, Andy Eschenbach of Flying Tiger Tattoo on our art-warfare... Joe Burdick closing the loop in SAV... and our presently fallen brother, Brian "Browndog" Martin in NJ/NY, nursing a pretty much destroyed knee.

Together, we are playing around in it every day to encourage everyone everywhere to give skateboarding a try if they haven't and to keep it as fun as it ever was, if they have been doing it for a long time.

Fickleboards are products of passion, patience, and love; not precision and perfectionism! Take them, put them under your feet, and get your shred on with them. After you're done KILLING it, you tell us how it was! We're sure you'll find the difference remarkable.

Please enjoy wrecking our boards. we'll keep the light on for ya.

To those about to Rock...

2011-12-07T10:02:00.001-08:00

for all of you who've ordered within the last 24hrs, we will be cutting your boards this coming weekend, starting friday night. Its still within the normal window, but we wanted you to know that. This is our way of letting you know what's up!

Old Lew is in Maine for a minute, wrapping his head around what it all means that we love skateboarding so much that we'd drag our whole lives into making boards ourselves...

We have reluctantly, almost inadvertently created an amazing thing, and we're all scratching our heads about where it all goes. Right now, it goes under the feet and you wreck it with skate destruction and then you say something like, "Wow. that was one of the funnest skateboards I ever wrecked!"

So the next round of orders goes out next monday, fresh cut!

No
Regrets.

Rocko says yeah.

2011-12-05T05:27:00.001-08:00

The punk point skateboard. A liberating experience.

Full-control concave, with enough length for that nose to wear in without losing your grip. We make these because we believe.

Cincinnati, America

2011-11-28T12:25:00.001-08:00

No flashy pics of unapproachable pros.
No overdone flip-frippery.
Just solid daily skateboarding done WITH YOU
by Lifer Skateboarders
on boards made
by Boardmakers
in Cincinnati, America.

this is some text from some ad campaign that we'll never bother to do more than stencil on your griptape at a session. hope you enjoy it and get the point that, when you have a choice, a board made by boardmakers beats quickpressed junk, every day.

and now we're on our third concave, with a glue that cannot be beat...

Daily Grind at Woody's

2011-11-26T07:39:00.001-08:00

It was more than an honor to spend a week at Woody's Skate Park in Savannah GA. This is one of the best places on planet earth, period.

Boe Parries is the man on the ground there, running everything for The Amazing Fabio (brazilian gnardog downhill crusher soul skater for life). Many thanks for the love, the hospitality, the friendship... Fickle and Woody's for life.

COV

2011-11-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

here's a bunch of yokels who have heart... we'd like to hear more from them over on their blog...

They're lifers out of Northern KY, just across from downtown Cincinnati... They are the real kind of skaters, not pros or hometown heroes... They are guys whose view is unaffected by hero-worship. Fickleboards will skate with them all soon.

we got artickled.

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

bud stratford, master of hyperbole, has just published an article on what's going on over here...

Click this

copy paste:

http://everythingskateboardingmagazine.blogspot.com/2011/11/small-company-spotlight-fickle.html

Over here at Fickle Boards (which isn't a PLACE, but more of a people...)

we want you to know a couple things:

First and last: Bud's website is for YOU, if you love skateboarding. Its a good place.

Next: some of the details were compiled during earlier phases, so things aren't quite exactly always what Bud is saying...

Our press isn't 600 tons.

we can't make any more than about 15 boards a day... 20 if we kill ourselves.

Another Thing:

we also screen all our shirts, hats and decks, hoodies and soon, Stickers! Right here in Cincinnati, right in the basement of HQ.

an important consideration:

we are not a skate shop.

we don't have wheels.

we don't sell trucks.

We are not a retail location.

fickleboards is a 2-location operation: a basement workshop and a warehouse studio/ramp-room.

we are growing a solid foundation of production for OUR BRAND ONLY, so that you can know that you know that you know that the boards you are getting are

Long-pressed

Long-cured

and hand-crafted.

We have no ambitions to take over anything, just to supply our friends with boards that last, that keep their pop and flex without changing, until they are destroyed by skateboarding. Period.

We will NOT make boards for another brand, name, or shop. all our boards are fickleboards. all the fickleboards come from HERE. Period.

Please enjoy the article.

and please destroy fickleboards today.

National Dress Like Jason Jessee Month

2011-11-01T03:05:00.000-07:00

November is Dress Like Jason Jessee Month, here where the wind begins to gust cold...Layering up with favorite hoodies is a great way to kick off the cold weather... Go get a Jason Jessee reissue and connect with the Gnar of old. Look here for more on Jason this month. We are putting him out there because he embodies... some of the things that being a skateboarder is like... the mentality and the art problem...

new spokesman/mascot

2011-11-01T02:46:00.000-07:00

what appears to be a dead-slash-dying manatee was sent in to us via facebook by John Donnell of Loveland Ohio, as a leading candidate for our new mascot/spokesman. we are all huge phineas and ferb fans over here at fickleboards HQ, so the natural skateboarding equivalent to their secret agent platypus was naturally... this thing... our official mascot will remain Rocko the Pitbull, who will be joining us this November 16 thru 22 on a trip to Savannah, but we are considering bringing on this heretofore unnamed bleeding aquatic mammal as the fickleboards public relations spokes person. sort of a press secretary kind of gig. we think he/she'll doo fine. Remember, your art could become a tee shirt if it is simple and doesn't include too many pesky colors... we are just about to drop the unicorn chaos graphic we got from Logan in NKY. it is retarded in all the right ways. Thanks John Donnell for being a borderline tweaker. fickleboards is here to help through maple laminate destruction technological supply.

Mass of these pics...

2011-10-31T05:04:00.001-07:00

We get quite a few photos like these sent in. Here's a stack up that Matt Allen bought.

After that, a punk point sold to a cat up near wapakoneta, OH.

...and we keep hearing back that they wear like iron.

Fickleboards are the best that maple can be! Long-pressed, long-cured, small batch, made from scratch... These are actually MADE by us. Every rider has a hand on wood production at some point. No hype. Pure skateboarding ethics.

We got your back! Please destroy Fickleboards.

Board meetings...

2011-10-31T04:58:00.001-07:00

Here's how things get done here at Fickleboards... A dog on the lap, between runs at great spots and parks, among a community of diverse, creative people...

Old Lew and Benjosux discussing future team development here, with Rocko the Bully taking the minutes.

pressing testers...

2011-10-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

...here at the workshop, with Weston over, Ben in the house, and Sunshine resident here as well... we are doing it all ourselves. yesterday we started up the hoodies. last week we made these sick smock-shirt things from the discount pile at the Military Surplus store... And soon we'll do dickies pants, to order, with our logo... Basically, we wear what we are making, and we destroy what we wear. That's what we want: for you to destroy the stuff we make. Make it all part of the memories you'll have, of going fast, grinding far, and doing something smooth and enduring with your skateboard. we have no plans to produce anything perfect, or fashion-fine-tuned. we are rough stinky dudes and we want you to feel free to be that way, too. gone shredding. by the way, all that stuff'll show up on the store next week.

Nobody said...

2011-10-28T15:03:00.001-07:00

Nobody said it couldn't be done, but they all told us we were fools for trying. Here's our next phase press.

Gnarly-ass, rough molds made off hand-carved concaves based solely on our own preference for soulful, deep concaves and curved kicks that translate into positive contact and strength across the whole board.

This next round will be a continuation of the epicness.

Fickle Boards are the genuine item.

This is why!

2011-10-27T03:45:00.001-07:00

This instant... This moment in time... This right here is what and where and why for Fickleboards.

In this hanging moment of kinetic intensity... That there's where Fickleboards deep, generous concave and sick shapes come into play.

Transmogrify this onto a plain popsickle with some plain concave and some plain wheelbase... Naaaw.

No matter what shape you ride, a fickleboard is holding you up. Here to support YOU!

Another punk point...

2011-10-11T05:39:00.001-07:00

...sent off to destruction. All you up there in Two-Hours-North-of-us-Landia, please enjoy killing off just as many Fickleboards as you want! We are going to make sure to stop off on our ways to Ft. Wayne.

Blue collar, midwest, solid craft, Fickleboards.

Pressed and genuinely MADE HERE IN NORTHSIDE, Cincinnati.
We are promoting GREAT WOOD, pressed and handmade in our workshop right here.

Why skate a turd? If our board doesn't wear like iron by the end of its life with you, let us know. We tend to back our work.

Full product Line on the wall at Tri-County Mall

2011-10-03T14:42:00.001-07:00

Now our full product Line is available on the wall at Badboards in the Tri-county Mall in Cincinnati.
Hats, Shirts, and stickers are all up there for you to choose from.

So besides our STORE (CLICK HERE) , you have the option to head over to the mall, read The Surfer's Journal at Hollister, grab a cookie at Auntie Em's... Some free samples from the Chinese food places...

...and handle the stuff for yourselves. We are pretty proud of this wood. We press it, cut it, shape it, sand it, spray, screen, spray, spray, wrap and deliver it all ourselves.

We also do all the screen printing and stenciling for all our hats and shirts. We are doing our best to be far more than a local company is expected to do. We are making boards that you'll be proud to destroy.

Special deliveries...

2011-09-30T15:40:00.001-07:00

We've been sending out quite a few boards lately. This is a pic from a Connecticut shredded who was looking for a wide board. Our 888 has gotten smoother since his batch 2 purchase, bit he's stoked as can be with it.

Fickles now have a glossier finish, and four colorways...

Please Skate and Destroy Fickle Boards!

Galaxie Skate Shop

2011-09-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Four fresh shredshanks await you at The Galaxie Skate Shop. There's an 8.5 bullnoseAn 888A punk rock cruiserAnd Old Lew's pride and joy, THE PANHEAD 9 UNREGRETTABLE SHREDSHANKS!

Dream Come True

2011-09-30T14:44:00.001-07:00

Really, hancrafted boards, pressed in the workshop, factory-free? Yes!

Long-Pressed, 4-day cured, cut, shaped, sanded, drilled, sanded, sprayed, painted, screened, sprayed, sprayed, wrapped and skates RIGHT HERE IN CINCINNATI by Old Lew and the Fickleboards Crew.

They smell like wood and pipe tobacco!

Please Skate and Destroy Fickle Boards today!

Flying off the wall!

2011-09-30T14:41:00.001-07:00

We just stocked a shop at the mall and are restocking it in real time.
If you're looking for Fickleboards, check out the full lineup at Badboards in the Tri-county Mall here in Cincinnati. Mallgrab that badboy and bomb the parking structure with a bellyfull of Sbarro!
Our online shop is easy to use for anyone out of range. Just click here and load up on decks, shirts, stickers, grip and hats!
Or you can call us direct at 513-655-SK81 or us for a custom job.

Shipping to Woody's in Savannah today!

2011-09-28T08:48:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time coming. We have reinvented the wheel over here, pressing, curing, cutting, shaping, Sanding, spraying, screening, spraying, wrapping, and shipping each board by our own hands.

From our heart to you, Savannah skateboarders! Please destroy them and come back for more, you filthy rippers.

Skate Shanks!

Finally, here's the store!

2011-09-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

This is the day.

No throwing ourselves a party.

Just staying at the work every day down here in the workshop, cooking you up some of the gnarliest skate-shanks ever!
Get on this store here and root around. There's plenty in there...
Feel free to follow up your orders with an email, and we'll also be in touch as we go to make sure we get the bugs worked out.

To all who are buying Fickle Skate Shanks, thanks!
It has been our dream for years and years to be able to contribute something like this to the Skateboarding Community.

Around here, we see the significance of small beginnings. We are also amazed at how far it's all come. A year ago, we were without wood. Now we have a full-on workshop cooking up proper decks. Have At It!
OFFICIAL FIRST TIME LINK TO THE FICKLE STORE (CLICK IT)

Stuff and stuff...

2011-09-13T16:14:00.001-07:00

We pulled the trigger on some sweet clear vinyl stickers... They are so clean and high tech that we decided to get old school on our first round of hats... Yellow and pink backgrounds with black logo...

Store...

2011-09-13T15:55:00.001-07:00

Spent the days work getting our new store ready for you. Hats, stickers, shirts, and a bunch of decks...

We are rounding the corner

Fickle FAQ: Knots and holes

2011-09-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

Q: "Why are there Knots visible on the top or edges of my board?"A: Well, first off, every board made by a factory has a knot in it somewhere, unless something unusual has gone on. This is because of the way the layers, or veneers, are produced. There are a lot of veneers in each batch of skateboard wood that contain numerous types of "defects", like knots. This is directly related to the veneers coming from the living tissue of TREES, which have Branches, which cause the knots... So there will be knots in boards, even boards of the highest quality, no kidding. the layer most likely to have a knot or serious "defect" is the center ply, because it's so buried in the board. Here at FickleBoards, our wood is pressed EXTRA LONG (4 hours minimum). compare that to an industry standard of around one hour... Granted, those one hour times are done with "quick curing" glues... but we think you'll see the difference when your FickleBoard doesn't soften up with hard use. WE also use a really really good, old-school, two-part Glue. This stuff is the old stuff. It's a "One Hour" cure, said to be able to be pulled out of the press in just under an hour, so it's every bit as "fast" as the new glues... Here's an aside: I was talking to one factory owner and he let me know that some of the new glues set in 20 minutes. Now, why in the hell would you be stacking a press and pulling it in 20 minutes? Answer: because you're pressing like 50 thousand boards a month, minimums... No kidding. here in the little workshop, we let your boards cure hard in the mold, then cure for 4 days in our special wood room, in controlled humidity and temperature... So if there's a knot, it's because we have nothing to hide from you. Your board is made of wood. And it is the highest quaity, guaranteed to wear like iron...So please destroy the thing with your skateboarding and see what we're talking about.

Fickle FAQ: Glue spots

2011-09-13T05:24:00.001-07:00

One thing you're going to see on a Fickle board now and then is a smudge of glue on the finish.

Here's the thing... One time I went to visit a skateboard factory and there was a reject board sitting there... It had a glue spot on it...

...and the tour guide was like"oh I'll fix that" and he takes a coarse grit disc sander and lays in it with all he's got. Glue spot gone.

...but half a ply thickness gone, too.

And glue spotting is part of the process that comes with USING ENOUGH GLUE to ensure that your Fickleboard will destroy well.

In fact, we slather on the glue really well, and it makes a big difference, we all have seen. Ironically, our boards are turning out light, too, because our PRESS squeezes all the extra out. We just do all we can, spending up to five times as much per deck in glue so we get that full coverage...

Hey, that's just where its at right now. We aren't going to chuck a great board in the garbage because it has a birthmark. And when you see that kind of "defect", it can remind you that we are here, doing this by hand, offering a consistently higher laminate quality, not afraid to do our thing.

And YOU, don't be afraid to do YOUR thing. Skate how you want to. Don't get roped in by fashion trendy, stand-in-line, prove-yourself skateboard elitism. This isn't the wrestling team. Do YOUR thing and don't hold back if its not picture perfect.

In a short time, we'll have a lot of the flaws killed off. But not if we worry about a glue spot. And we'll be d!rned if we're going to sand half-dollar-sized thin spots into your boards just to get them to look perfect.

This is skateboarding. Please Destroy It.

Fickle FAQ: Custom Boards

2011-09-13T05:11:00.001-07:00

Got this one yesterday. Good question:

"Hey, I think i've heard, or seen something about having your own fickle board made, and I was wondering what the deal was on that."

First off, THANKS for contacting us (me, Old Lew) here at the workshop. Presently, I have a limited capacity to produce custom Boards. Nothing too crazy.

9.5 absolute widest, with a possibility of a slight "short ply". I like 9.25 for widest width...

Lengthwise, we can handle up to 34 inches pretty well.

Also, there is a certain "human uniqueness factor" to all the boards... Let's face it, we have no CNC, computer-driven precision cutting tables... We have a bearded man who loves skateboarding, skateboarders, and skateboards.

...so all final dimensions are pretty danged close, but robotics-free.

But yeah, if you want a custom board, send us an email at fickleboards@gmail.com and let's see what we can do... If I can't fit it in, well that's just tough luck for us all, because shaping something new is really fun

The present going rate is $60 plus shipping or delivery.

So there you go... Customs are limited to possibility, but possible.

Remember, since you must Skate and Destroy,
Please Destroy a Fickle.

Fickle FAQ: INTRO

2011-09-13T05:00:00.001-07:00

We are going to field some of your questions, and give a voice of clarification and reason in these segments... Please enjoy. Please Destroy!

New shape...

2011-09-09T15:58:00.001-07:00

This here guy asked for a certain type of shape... Old Lew hit the ship for a while and The Link 1 was born.

A totally unique pool and vert destroyer. You'll find it and its technical breakdown on our soon-coming store.

Experimental graphic...

2011-09-09T14:18:00.001-07:00

Playing around with paint today gave us these ghostly white on blacks. We felt like the white was a bit thin, so we are going to get a thicker one.

But these are great, in keeping with the punk and surf roots of our whole thing here at fickleboards... No kidding, we are totally stoked on rough edges hewn in creative thrashing about.

So get one soon and please just destroy it with YOUR creative thrashing.

Emilio's 8.6 Punk Point

2011-09-09T14:13:00.001-07:00

Yeah so this cat down south on the legit East Coast hits me up last week, "hey do you guys have an 8.6 punk point?"

And I'm (Old Lew) like, "shame on us, we don't..." All we had was a 9.25.

So I made the shape from scratch, custom job for Emilio... The birth of a great shape for the rest of us.

This. plank. shreds.

You can thank Emilio in Miami from here on for this one.

Todays Work

2011-09-09T14:08:00.001-07:00

We have heard that it is tricky to Rock a rhyme...

...so instead we made these boards.

Are they perfect? Why yes. Yes they are... They are each beautiful, in their own way. Like a starry summer night, or a snow covered winter's day.

Oh crap. We rocked a rhyme indeed.

The reason why...

2011-09-09T05:45:00.001-07:00

So I've been locked up downstairs for days and days, doing pretty much nothing but make boards and skate HQ... And I keep getting all this tremendously rational, proper thinking about what skateboarding means to me, as I hand make each plank.

We released five boards to Badboards, and two to the Galaxie skate shop. The choice to make a simultaneous release to the "mall shop", and the "corest of the core" shops is a reflection of the heart that's beating here at Fickleboards.

We back the skateboarder. No matter where they are or where they come from. If you are in love with pushing on your skateboard, we back you.

These first round decks are SOLID, and they LAST, because we press them for at least FOUR HOURS. They cure for FOUR DAYS after pressing, so that the glue is totally bonded before the cutting and sanding do their thing.

We have run out almost seventy boards in testing, and its true.

We were planning on making pretty rough stuff, and our finish work improves every day, but the laminate quality is beyond our wildest expectations. The concave is sick. So deep.

Look, all I'm saying is that the store is going up soon, and you'll be able to browse everything I've got, real-time...
And the reason why?

You. Skateboarding.

So this is probably the last post before the store is up. And that will bring some changes... But it is always going to be all about

You
Skateboarding

coming soon: online store

2011-09-03T05:16:00.000-07:00

We are getting seriously close to having the store up and running. The holdup is that we are scrambling to name and detail all our new stuff... It's more complicated than Old Lew had anticipated, because he's able to make just about anything... Soooo... There are the main shapes, the accidental radnesses, and the cruiser cut-downs. All in all, nothing is wasted. The 888 is a favorite. Big popsickle. Matt's favorite of all time... The Bull Nose is about 8.5 and just as long as the 888 There's a less-exciting 8.5 that is sized a little shorter for those who still believe that boards have to be short and same-ish to perform well on street... Please see the Gonz. There's a punk Point niner, and a punk Point 8.6er There's a massive pool board I like to call the Panhead. You gotta see it. Weston rides this one. There's "the Ben". It's a directional, "old-school" with a shaped nose and a flat tail. Totally street-able. Totally tranny ready. Then there are the cruisers and one-offs... These come from cut-downs after shaping mishaps... They are one of a kind.. Then there are the custom jobs. These go for $55 base price, plus shipping and handling. As I count that up, we are putting out like a million shapes! As usual, we are presently sold out, but there's a good stack on the finishing table. When the store is up, you'll be able to see what we have in stock in real time. Hopefully We will be able to get all the bugs worked out quickly and shopping up a Fickle will become routine.

Just Got Massively Stoked

2011-08-16T17:15:00.001-07:00

We just had an important visitor here at Fickle HQ. Henry, a 9-yr.-old kid, and his dad, just stopped by to pick up his first board EVER.

It was our little shark board--a narrower version of our directional street board. It is sick. He got the complete, just like we like to sell them: Indy Trucks, Bones Wheels, Indy Bearings and like that...

And a shark tee shirt.

And a Sticker Pack.

And he got to meet Ben and Link (friend of Fickle).

We all hope to skate with Henry real soon and get him shredding. I (old Lew) instructed him to destroy the board with skateboarding.

And we gave them a tour of our workshop, showing them the whole process.

...cos that's how we roll.

2011-08-15T16:03:00.001-07:00

2011-08-15T16:02:00.001-07:00

Up and coming...

2011-07-26T16:54:00.003-07:00

What do you guys think of three more molds with sick concave? They're under all that sick wood there.

New molds this month

2011-07-26T16:54:00.001-07:00

... And a new press, too!

the latest scoop

2011-07-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal... we leaked some boards out last week. For Sale. Face to Face.

One guy bought 2 complete cruiser setups for his 2 adorable kids. Shipped it to him to assemble, walked him through it on the phone...

Another dude bought an heirloom issue: had the dimension markings left on it and all finished off with poly and graphic. Immediately buys another one to skate so he can collect the one-off original...

Another guy gets an 8.88 popsicle. And another guy. And another guy.

Somebody in Rochester NY orders a complete setup. Shipping soon. Here that is...

Bam! it's all going great.

And the whole time, we're getting feedback on our testers and prototypes that are still out there, lasting 5, 6, 7 weeks and not cracking. Some of these things don't even pressure crack!

Sure there've been on purpose defects in a lot of the prototypes, but even those are lasting like IRON.

To top it all off, we WEIGHED a 34.5 inch Pool Destroyer Punk Point with an 8 inch nose, 9.5 width yesterday. 3.4 lbs.

That, my friends isn't very heavy for such a plank. Our factory-made 8.5 (one inch narrower) weighed in at 3.3lbs.

So to our great astonishment, we are producing wood that LASTS.

We have found a few companies that do this, and we want you to know, all you daily skaters, that it is possible to experience QUALITY in your skateboard for the price you pay.

Our boards are $40.00 plus shipping or delivery, easily falling under $50 for most folks and always less than $60. For that you get sick concave and amazing laminate strength.

The thing is, we're out again, but we have a stack of uncuts in the shop and we'll be pressing all the way to mid-August for another pack of great wood for you. On top of that, we'll have our ONLINE STORE coming out soon, and that'll make everything a lot easier on you.

We will continue to offer completes, but you better like INDY Trucks and Bones wheels, cos they'll come with INdy trucks, bearings, and hardware, and Bones wheels, either 54-ish or 57-ish. Period.

If you want choices, go to the Galaxie, or hit up an online skate shop that has a real brick and mortar location associated with it. Support the people who make it happen, not just corporate conglomerate soul-killers like mall chains and disembodied online retailers...

yeah. that was the scoop.

We will drop a post and a tweet and a facebook update when there are boards again! Get ready, because they fly out fast. Shops, we want to supply you, too, but we'll need you to be cool for a minute while we work out our "on the wall" packaging.
We want to make them look pretty for ya. all shrink wrapped and whatnot.

Board art enhancements

2011-07-20T11:14:00.001-07:00

... Been getting a lot of feedback on the boards we've been leaking out there this week. Laminate quality is absolutely killer.

This one guy put a sick paintjob on his. He texted it to us just now.

All you with the Fickleboards, hit us up with how you dress them up.

2011-07-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

every now and then, doing the right thing really hurts you.

two days ago, during the drive of our latest road trip, we dialed up Mike Mills at Syndicate Skateboards and asked him if he wanted to poach himself a Josh Viles.

Why would we flat-out offer one of our best riders, and a dear friend, to another skateboard company?

Well, we're rolling out jokes about how Josh was just way too good for us to keep around, because he is honestly a crusher. an absolute crusher. But the truth is, it's because josh deserves opportunities that Fickle just isn't giving him.

Syndicate is gonna do demos where you sit down and see how it's done. Fickle is just going to skate with you for a week.
Syndicate is going to put on events where you know what it's all about. Fickle is going to sleep on your couches and play your nintendo.
With Syndicate, Josh will have a supporting team and booth and merch and all at competitions that Fickle boards doesn't give a rat's about, much less afford the drive to get there...

So once our wood came out and we saw how sparse our program is, and how huge Josh's potential is, we thought Mike and Don and the good folks at Syndicate would keep josh busy with stuff that's more his league.

We hope we'll see Josh a lot, but we realize that once you plug into a crew, life fills in the gaps. There's always a place at the table here at fickleboards, for Josh, but we hope he never stoops that low again.

It's ironic that we jokingly announced that he was off the team back in the day for doing like a 360-body jar or some such madness... because that's exactly why we let him go. He has a real gift, and we don't want to be any part of squandering it. Again, we are here in full support of Josh Viles, for life. That's why we let him fly free.

Fly free, little birdy! *sniff*

road trip number 57: columbus oh

2011-07-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

just got back late last night from a road trip with Native, Old Lew, Sunshine, Weston, and Andy. Once up there, we picked up young caleb from the airport. He's been gone for a while to Idaho and SanDiego and whatnot... Just a homie trip. Relaxed.

We brought a trunkful of our new boards to show (not sell) to people and talk about what Fickle is doing--hand-making wood to supply skaters, as we hit the road and SKATE WITH YOU, NOT AT YOU.

We don't come around to prove that you should listen to us on music or fashion.
We don't come around to dominate your scene and prove that we're better than you (if that were possible...some RIPPERS out there)
We don't come around to push an advertising campaign for mail-order wood that has a heat transfer brand graphic burnt onto it.

We come around because we LOVE SKATING WITH ALL OF YOU. From the ICP kids who bought me my first Moon Mist, to the skinny little metalhead ripperlings, to the older crushers who are miles deep in both skill and stories... we are STOKED ON SKATEBOARDING, AND STOKED ON YOU.

With Fickleboards, there's no vibe but being stoked that we're all here together, doing something as ridiculously fun as skateboarding. Our boards are hand made, and available in limited quantities for people who love to ride wood that has history ahead of it.

dog days

2011-07-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Did you ever just tale the day to chil out with your pitbull? Thats what just went down here at Fickle Corporate. No regrets. Things continue to progress at the pace of life well-lived.

Why

2011-07-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

Why are there no updates in like some days? Because skating is more fun than blogging!! Now quit reading this and go skate!

Oh yeah, buy some fickle stuff too!

fickletarded

2011-06-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

indy for life. loosey goosey. take out the washers and put the nut at the end of the bolt... just watch out for flying hangars!

this retarded clip played every time you open the site, so I took it down...
check our vimeo for it....

hey, Please Destroy Fickle Boards.

UTB

2011-06-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

The homies are putting some sick stuff under the bridge, you know where... here's just a taste of what is going on down there all the time... holding to our terrible clip quality standards here at Fickle Corporate.

maybe you might

2011-06-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

...want to make sure to watch that diy footage down there...

2011-06-14T10:55:00.001-07:00

this morning I, Old Lew, went down in the workshop and put out 4 tester boards... they all have defects, on purpose, whether it be "old glue" or knot holes in 3 plys, or some other such imperfection... the thing is... sometimes they hold up like iron. sometimeses they getses themselves a little delam. But overall, they are GREAT, outside of the cosmetic imperfections that arrive by merit of us not knowing what the hell we're doing half of the time...

So if you have the stomach to fork out a little cash on a flawed board, in order to test out our "worst case scenario" wood, shoot us a facebook message on our fickleboards fan page...

and if you don't like something that came from the hands of a skater, and bears imperfections--the scars of authenticity--you're not going to like our first couple of rounds of wood...

But if you get stoked about the idea of your board being a relationship with a crew that is in here and out there DOING IT... because we will have your back.

If your board has a delamination: automatic sticker pack! Just put those stickers on the delam and BAM!!! Delam fixed... After that, if the board continues to decline and you don't get a good lifespan out of it, we'll definitely take care of you on your next board! No kidding.

That's the kind of thing we can do when we're this small and this dumb. Take advantage of us now, while we still have no idea what is going on!

Building some of the Jersey Wall at the Workshop...

2011-06-14T10:52:00.001-07:00

we owe a hearty thank you to our good friend Kris Link, who shot and edited this little gem... a day in the life over here...

Why we're taking so long...

2011-06-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

We want our product to come from our love of skateboarding. Period. So we are not rushing. we work at it as we are inspired by the love. Period.

This means that the little trickle that comes out will be backed by the love of the thing, man!

Later, when we're gushing all kinds of stuff like tee shirts and stickers and series graphics and shapes and concaves, it'll all have come from a crew that loved the work! That is our hope--that our contribution to skateboarding's community will come from the love.

Tales of the Guut!!! Part 2 DIY Wall Sesh

2011-06-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Maan, we overwaxed the thing that night, so the first session was full of slippery stuff... Hey, if you don't like crappy footage, we're not your guys. The crappier, the better, so far.

...at least that's what we tell ourselves.

2011-06-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

there's been so much skating going on lately that we have gotten ourselves all tuckered out. so good to have a rain day to recoup and finish some much needed workshop stuff... all our shop buddies, hang in there. we're still getting our screening and spraying working... wood soon.

Ben

2011-06-11T03:48:00.001-07:00

Slappy on a dry, dry curb

2011-06-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

as far as we could see, this curb was untouched, at the Centerville park... no wax... listen to the grind. pure.

ben at centerville the other day...

2011-06-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

it is fun to skate with Ben.

Today we...

2011-06-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Weston, Josh, Ben, Brums, and Old Lew poured about 6 more feet of Jersey wall in the backlot... all learning mass about pouring it right, with form and mesh and all that... floating it the right amount so it's buttery smooth... the Jersey wall is a 30 foot curve. It's going to be siiiick.

Then we cleaned up and rested a while and headed out to skate with Kris Link at Colerain's skate park over there... It was a great session. Old Lew was himself, just cruising around. Josh crushed stuff up. Weston just wheezed, peed, layed around changing a broken baseplate--and then charging the hell out of the place with mass back tails and crazy stuff... Brums was happy and chargey as usual, with nosegrinds to disaster/lipslides... Mass air, too. all the guys... mass. fun fun fun.

Oh and on the way there, we picked up Artist Andy and seshed the Rampasaurus Rex for a little while, so andy and Lew made up fake rap songs and discussed other stuff, just carving it up while the boys destroyed.

Also spotted was young Eli, who has emerged as a talented crusher of all things transitioned. Eli is all about crushing. Wow. Enter that kid in the bowlriders all day. Us trick-ass cellphone-filming barneys will be cleaning up the trash and pressing our workshop best for you.

Anyone up to book a session shaping your own board in our workshop? Hit us up. It's not free, but it IS epic. It is our way of starting our product release. We aren't just about putting our logo on some stuff we bought from a factory. we are all about connecting YOU to skateboarding in a deeper way. How much fun will that be?

Backyard Kewpie... (QP)

2011-06-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

this is Fickleboards... guys who could skate the comp, traveling hours to stay for weeks and skate and pour concrete and skate and skate and pour and make molds and press boards and learn together all about making boards. yeah, we'll definitely show up at the comps in a little while, sure. we love that stuff because we get to hang out with all sorts of amazing cool cats. But this life together of working on wood, pouring the backlot, building the HQ ramps... it's all sharpening our understanding of what it's all about.

last night's session at LBG was epic. Viles did every trick on the big wall, in the dark. Whats with thelights out at 9pm? Didn't matter to joshie.

Well, enjoy this little bit of phone phooty from our epic saga: "Tales of the Guut"

...and we'd just as well work trash patrol at a comp than win it, because it's actually all about being a cohesive community, not about dominating the stats. Right?

Down For Lifers

2011-06-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

On the SAV trip this winter, a bunch of us posted up at Black Orchid Tattoo in Savannah, GA for the obligatory "Skate and Destroy" Tat. Fickle is Down for Life, no doubt.

Hand making our boards, and yours. Hand screening every graphic, every tee shirt, every sticker, all in the Workshop.
Dedicated to building backyard, sidelot, and Key Park projects, we make the scene everywhere we go, because the scene is YOU and US, skating Together, TODAY!

Old Lew

Joshy...

Forrest...

...and Native Nik breaks out and gets his ankles done up in a tribute to Dave Kappa and Hulk Ripps. No homo.

don't miss www.hulkripps.blogspot.com, either.

on a side note, Sunshine came home and got his DFL Skate and Destroy tat done at Flying Tiger Tattoo

Josh by Cal

2011-06-02T03:17:00.000-07:00

...with this whole "not making any boards for a year because we took it all back to brass tacks and hand-built a workshop so that everything you see with Fickle on it is handmade by Fickle" thing going on, Old Lew hasn't really put the skating up on here like maybe he would have if he were pushing generic popsicles made in a factory, heat-transferred and whatnot... no disrespect. but i don't respect that as much anymore.

so with this whole thing, we've focused on just skating and roadtrips, all riding like Creatures and other brands (and loving it), trying mass stuff out and just Having Fun With People!

Here's Josh. He Kills it. we don't know why he keeps us around. Josh, when your head swells and the winds pick you up... we'll always be here... This weekend Joshy is in Cinci to shred, buiild aDIY quarter pipe wall, and cut, shape, spray and screen his own flow boards. How fun is that? who gets to do that?

Many thanks to Cal for this edit. Proper.

The Lowdown.

2011-06-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

endless hours of running out to get the next thing we need that we didn't know we needed to get the workshop working... and I'm talking about the screenprinting...

Hey man, look out for some seriously "rustic" screenprinting on these first rounds of Fickle product! We have never even done this before... and by "this" we mean, building our own entire workshop from laminate press to spray room to screen printing to bring you something that isn't found on the wall of Zumiez...

And this wood. It's got glue in it. We slather a massive amount of glue on both sides of all our laminate veneers, then press them for a RIDICULOUSLY LONG TIME and then cure them for at least 4 days before releasing them to the world... our riders swear that this wood is epic.

As for me, Old Lew, all I'm saying is that this is what I wanted to die doing: making skateboards with my hands. I have plenty of stuff going on beyond this, and I don't have a plan to become a million-unit, high-output factory. I just want to have the joy of making epic planks for you to destroy.

There are a lot of heads pulling together to get this thing out to you. Today I want you to know about Ian Brown, our staff electrician and all-around most hardest worker. Ian is one of the reasons that there'll be a Fickle Boards for you in the future. Thanks!

Now there's trouble...

2011-06-01T15:12:00.001-07:00

Oh no, I have been given access to keep the world up to date on the antics at Fickleboards!

Just remember, if I say something that upsets you it is still Lew's fault.

Looking forward to ranting about Lew and this whole gang of hoodlums and the beauty of watching this whole thing evolve (see, there I go offending those against evolution).

-@fickleMatt

Here's what's happening

2011-05-18T18:28:00.001-07:00

Today I made you a board. I made you quite a few boards. All of them are well beyond good enough to skate. Brace yourself.

Status:

2011-05-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

here we are...

We have a mold working. It's making pretty epic boards...

We have our screen room coming along, and it looks good to go this week on screening and spraying the boards...

And our new store is ready for product to sell...

So it looks like we'll make a May release.

But at the same time, we are happy to have to hold you off for another minute or two to offer another concave, or make an improvement here or there...

And I've been thinking about it a lot, since our prototypes are coming out Bomb-Proof...

You all need to get a load of this wood. I mean the GLUE actually HOLDS them together! The Press-Time, and the curing times actually make the boards HOLD UP really well...

Right now we are experimenting with a concave that is a mellow, curved, thing of beauty. If you look closely you can see evidence of the hand-crafting of the mold... I mean, we looked around and youtube doesn't tell you how to hand-carve molds that will make great boards. Old Lew is kind of stoked...

At the same time, we get it why so few undertake this. It has been a pretty consuming passion for going on 5 years now.

Old Lew never would have done this if Fickle could have simply purchased reliable wood from someone else. We never set out to be some kind of pioneers back to the old days, or iconic whatevers...

We are only doing this because we HAVE to, unless we want to base our company on what picture is on the board, and just let you eat the difference on wood quality. We are stoked to bring you hand-crafted boards off our workshop press...

Please just be patient with us while we work up quantities that can keep you riding. And please be gracious with any "marks of handmade authenticity" you may find in your boards. These are boards made by a guy and his friends.

Thanks to all of you who keep hitting us up and checking in on us. We are working to become your wood shop!

Lew

Boards In May!

2011-04-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

We want all of you to be in the know. We just quadrupled our pressing capabilities... that is, we just made these new molds out of ninja materials, and have cured them for days and days... They will go in the press right away...

with these molds, we will create shreddsickles in higher quantities, at a quicker rate...

Each one will still have a minimum of 4 hours in the press, with a good portion of them pressing overnight.
Each one will still cure for 96 hours (4 days) after pressing, letting all the little molecular bond buddies do their thing...

And they are coming out in sizes that you can skate hard and fast. Just like our last line, our shapes run a hair longer in the wheelbase so you have control at speed.

And our new concave combines the curved kick that we love so much, with a slightly mellower presentation, allowing for a board with curves and hips, that skates street every bit as well as tranny.

All of this to say, Look for us at shops in May, follow our facebook fan page, and check out our webstore once we announce it.

For real, by mid-May we should be in something like "full swing"!

Enjoy.

molds molds molds...

2011-04-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well, we're powering our way toward a strong May for you. Matt and Lew are spending extra time in the shop making new molds this week. We are looking at shorter molds, longer molds, and special custom offsets and other technical mold jargon...

All boards are in the press for a minimum of 4 hours--that's enough time for them to REALLY set up. And they are cured for 4 days so the wood is crisp and the bonds are proper before drilling, cutting and sanding.

All of this means that our boards are going to be a little more rare, and of a lot higher quality than what you are used to.

enjoy!

fools in the workshop!

2011-04-17T17:11:00.000-07:00

Old Lew and Matt Simpson in the lab about a month ago, working on a prototype... These are turning out really well, but it'll be a minute till we are producing a large quantity.

To date, we've been pressing boards with on-purpose flaws and they're holding up amazingly well under punishment. That's because of good glue and long press-times. Soon, you'll have a store on here to order your own, or you can head to Woody's or the Galaxie, and other fine skate shops, to get yours!

pretty hyped...

2011-04-05T07:05:00.000-07:00

As you can imagine, we're pretty hyped, here at Fickle HQ. We are getting amazing wood out of our press because we are committed to pacing ourselves at 4 hour press-time minimums, and at least a 4 day glue curing before any high-vibration processes, like drilling, cutting, or sanding...

You see, the high-tech way that the Lion's Share of boards are made today doesn't let the glue set. And while the glue is still soft, they're drilling, cutting the edges, and sanding the crap out of the top and bottom plys... That's where you get the edge and pressure cracking issues so commonplace today.

Now, we're not saying that you'll never get a board from Fickle that pressure cracks. After all, this is WOOD. Wood is a thing that until fairly recently, was alive and it has all these swirls and stuff and that means that sometimes you'll get a board that doesn't behave.

If you want something that will never warp, chip, crack or have defects--get an aluminum skateboard! or a plastic one! They exist and we are sure you'll hate them. But hey, NO RULES, and if you show up at the spot pushing mongo, sporting a hip-sack, riding your new Aluminum board with replaceable graphite tips, we're going to be stoked to be skating with you!

You know why?

Because hands-down, skateboarding is just about the single best thing to do in the world, aside from the Big 5.

(You can fill in your own top 5 any time--there just ought to be some things that are more important to you than playing on a toy)

...But the kids at Fickle will keep working to make sure that any StuntPlank you buy from our shop, whether direct online, or at some of the finest of skateshops, will be epic, solid, and your best choice of a thousand evils.

Now Go Shred.

we made this one...

2011-04-05T06:41:00.001-07:00

an experiment...
34L x 15.126WB x 9.5"W x T7.126 x N8.0

This is one of the biggest shapes we'll be offering. You will be able to find them, as they are available, on our website, or at the finest of Skate Shops.

It is a prototype, but it took 7 hours straight of street abuse without even starting to show any wear beyond the surface...

what are you going to get with a Hand-Shaped, 4-Hour Pressing, 4-Day Cured Fickle Board? Solid-ness!

So if you're looking for a Punk Point, or an Old-School, or a Pool board, we are dialed in for you. We not only have the capacity to do a shape you're looking for... we have control over the veneer quality, Press Time, Curing, and all that right down to your graphic screening...

We are also working up concaves and shapes for your basic Rodney Mullen/World Industries mass production street popsicle, for those of you who want a symmetrical board, but for some mysterious reason don't want it double kicked? Okaaaay...

We here at Fickle Boards are too amazed at the sheer heaps of fun we're having to ponder the mystery of how the innovation of the skateboarding community settled on popsicles... Maybe Old Lew will take that one on in an article later...

Look for us in May for product at the Galaxie, Woody's in SAV, and other fine shops... For me, for now, I'm going to go shred this sled.

Some words...

2011-03-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Lew said some things...

An exciting Week...

2011-03-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

First off, the guys are at Colerain's own Clippard Park today. Go shred with them. There's Josh Viles, Weston Vickers, Sunshine on the cameras, and Ben Osborne... Native Nik is headed there shortly, as well... So go shred with them there if you're in the Cincinnati Area.

Next, it's been a pretty memorable week.
Our first pressings of prototype boards have come out pretty sick. There are imperfections, but they are pretty danged radical planks! Here's a quick pic of the very first five boards ever to come out of the Fickle Workshop.

We are hopeful that we will be able to STOKE YOU on something made by hands that hand make the boards... Josh Viles and Weston, Ben and Nik, Sunshine and Browndog, Carrie and Forrest, Brumley and Matt... Big Joe in Savannah, Ian Brown on electric and Adam Sherwood on welding... And Old Lew Covered in Glue...

All of these guys here are getting their hands dirty and experiencing what it is to produce YOUR skateboard. There isn't a person here who isn't actually involved in the actual hand-making, hand screening, hand-packaging of YOUR skateboard. So you can expect a personal touch with the whole experience, no matter what!

We'll have a board ready for you in May. Spread the word and check back often!

And please, make sure you get out there and go FAST today. Enjoy.

New Lighting and Electric

2011-03-25T05:55:00.001-07:00

The Fickle Workshop (Lew's Lair) got a makeover yesterday, while prototypes pressed in the "Squeezer". Ian Brown came down with "Johnny" (a wicked cool neighbor with a 5 foot tall indian statue in his front yard)... and they put in all new totally up to code wiring for sockets and mass fluorescent lamps and stuff for all the workbenches and stuff...

Basically, they set us up to cook with grease down there...

So that's how that went. It was pretty insane.

Now we're focusing on getting enough wood cooked up for Josh and Weston to go home with a stack of Prototype Testers. Each one will have scribble scratched pencil details on it about it's contents and process stuff... As soon as they break, warp, chip or whatever, we'll bring them back and take a look at how we can do it better... Its insanely fun stuff...

We aren't taking over the world... we're just trying to get under and lift a little. these boards should help you out. Look for us in May!

It's ON!

2011-03-23T17:58:00.001-07:00

Today we pulled the first two Fickle Boards hand-made-by-hand out of the press... an eight ply dummy board and a 7 ply skateable.

Insane.

Glue lines are perf.
Concave is proper.
Mold survived and is pressing more tonight...

And we spent the day engineering a new top mold with offsets so we can have three per mold pressing up and running this week or next... That will usher in a high enough production for all of you to enjoy boards on the regulars, hand-made-by-hand in the Fickle Workshop, by the Bearded Madman.

And Josh Viles and Weston Vickers and Sunshine were there to help it all go down.

Seriously, the coolest thing is that we made our own concave design. It's not perfect, but it's definitely what we wanted! We will put a lot into developing new concaves and shapes and combinations of different stuff as we go, because we have the luxury of only producing boards for Fickle Boards! We don't have all kinds of orders to fill, or a rush to bag the cash. We are just making what we make with our hands for the joy of skating it!

Come enjoy with us!

Again, we'll start to offer our boards and stuff to the general public in May. Come be part of testing out what might become something epic. Maybe it already is. We don't know because it's just enjoying skateboarding, to us.

All I'm sayin is...

2011-03-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Josh Viles and Weston Vickers arrived for a spring break week of skating in our area here... That's the general Cincinnati area...

Josh blew off the Florida Bowl Riders competition for it... a comp that you know he could have used to climb the ladder to the higher echelons of skateboarding industry reputation glory... Josh really appreciates all the good folks who encouraged him to go and clean up down there, as do all of us here, but MAN, the shredding that is going on among the brothers here in the Fickle Camp.

Make sure to get a session in with the boyos this week, all. These guys are an outpouring of joy, and joy gives strength. That's the fact! Skateboarding is an amazing, dynamic combination of movement and thought... and enjoying that is our top number one priority...

So get out there and go thirty... and get out and skate with the Fickle weirdos.

Oh, and did I mention that our press is going to make the first prototype board, today? Yep.

Springtime!

2011-03-20T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well its springtime, and you know what that means!

Hoodguys dumping clips of ammo at each other half-a-block from our warehouse headquarters! Yeah, we love it here on the bleeding border of Over The Rhine and The West End, Cincinnati. Everyone but Old Lew has been outdoors shredding, then coming in for night sessions in our HQ Ramp Room, lately.

Lew?

Well, let's just say that Old Lew has almost got us completely up and running. Its looking like wood will become abundant in MAY, 2011! Keep checking back.

When you see our website get real good, like a whole new skin on it and all...
...and when you see our sweet online store, so you can get Fickle Stunt Lumber, even if your closest skate shop in 200 miles away...

You will know that Fickle Is With You.

Now go push that stunt lumber.

Go Thirty, Always.

Sweet Savannah Vibes from Woody's

2011-03-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

Check out Woody's. These guys are the real deal. We'll be visiting Savannah for years to come, guaranteed. There is no scene that throws a party for a ragtag band of stranger. We posted up over there for days and days, sleeping on floors and shredding all day!

how can we say "Thank you!?"
By following through and making the best hand made (by hand) stunt lumber we can.

By the way, we popped out our first official mold today. Stunt Lumber Prototypes will be issued to a select few in the coming weeks.

2011-03-10T06:14:00.000-08:00

Fickle Boards Is:

2011-03-10T06:12:00.001-08:00

...a bearded crazy man locked up in his workshop lab, cooking up stuntwood to blow your mind.

...a feel-good crew of creative souls on a mission in your town...

...wood hand made by hand by skaters who love this so much that we make it by our own hands...

Stripping it down to roots!

2011-03-10T06:10:00.000-08:00

We're taking it back down to roots. Keep your eyes peeled for fresh stuntwood from the Fickle Workshop! Prototypes dropping in April.

Mold

2011-03-10T05:17:00.001-08:00

Here's a picture...

Last night, Forrest Hagedorn and I busted the Plaster Casting off this mold. It is pretty much perfect.

We spent the time dreaming and talking about dimensions and shapes for the wood we'll be pressing off this mold. A lot of our riders have gotten really excited about being able to really explore dimensions and shapes that they've wanted for years.

Now, don't get us wrong, we're not going to do a lot of custom orders. This is going to roll out pretty normally.
But we are definitely excited as a crew because we get to experiment on new shapes that WE make.

Because The Fickle Workshop is slated to be the only place Fickle Boards are made, we only have a few hundred boards to make for our customers, so we can continue to mess around with other stuff...

...There isn't a plan to become a factory...
...There's no path to providing blanks, shop decks, or pressing for any other brand...
we are planning to keep it to one workshop, one brand, hand made by hand...
Our hope is that eventually, a Fickle Board will be identifyable as a really fun experience, from concept to concrete. And that the quality of a 4-hour pressed, 4 Day Cured board from Fickle Labs will keep you stoked as you go 30.