It’s a feeling.

Our Playthings have to feel just right or we put them to one side, back in the box, and find reasons to not play with them. Sometimes, our playthings are the culmination of ideas, festering in our minds, often never surfacing due to fear or limiting beliefs. But when they are released, these playthings can change your life in such a positive way it’s unfathomable. 

I first heard the term ‘Spielzeug’ on a Do Lecture. Based in Wales, journalist Dan Keiron was giving a talk about ‘how ideas have us, we don’t have them’. His amusing lecture back in 2017 hit a note with me. Not, the actual topic, although spot on, but the story he referred to amongst his inspiring lecture. 

Dan was sent on a mission to find out why men love tanks, yes, Big f..k off tanks. What young boy does not love a tank, in fact what grown man does not get a little bit excited by the sight of one. I now men of my age grew up watching Maybe old war films.  However, in the context of his lecture he was being shown around a persons collection of military equipment. After ragging around a field in a WW2 beast, he asked the question ‘why do men love tanks? The owner replied, “it’s Spielzeug”. Dan was confused. The tank owner, feeling the need to explain this further, showed him into his barn where, behind many security locks, he kept a vast handgun collection. Dan was asked to hold one, sceptically Dan reached out and took hold of an original Walter PPK, the same as James Bond uses. He held it carefully in his hands, and was then offered a Chinese copy. As he began to hold other guns, he reflected on which one felt the best, which one felt right? Knowing less that nothing about these weapons, Dan had unknowingly picked every original over the cheaper copies. The owner of the collection then expressed again, that what he had experienced was ‘Speilzeug’, referring this time to ‘when something just feels right’. It’s hard to describe, but there’s an added value to our playthings,  and Dan Keiron had the answer to his question, Why do men love Tanks? It’s because they just feel right. 

Since hearing this phrase I can easily identify this in my own activities. The majority of the surfboards I own are custom made. The shapers have done a unique service to all of them. Like a work of art, or piece shown love by a sculpture, the surfboard shaper has a process and are the unsung heroes of the surfing world. Many have been shown the way by a Master Craftsman who have gone before them, and yes, there are female shapers, but they are few, although numbers are growing, but they still remain a very small percentage of what is arguably a shrinking trade. Based upon the shapers feel and touch, they handle the blank, this is a piece of foam, with a rough exterior. The shaper has to find the board within. The blank could be compared to a piece of wood before a joiner crafts it into a table top, or wooden bowl, a piece of clay turned to a pot, neither finished, but the raw ingredient. 

Running their hands down the rails, over the deck and the bottom. Shaping in contours, like ‘’vee, ‘reverse vee’, and ‘roll’ that will help the water flow over the board or releasing water where needed. These are the elements that allow the board to hold into the wave, create lift and friction whilst cutting into the wave and this is where the magic lies. In this process, shapers constantly raise the blank up and look down  from nose to tail and visa versa. A great shaper has a creative eye, a critical eye, an observing eye. When the board has been shaped, then the next craft begins. The lamination, the sanding and polishing, and this is where the board becomes even more stunning. Only when this process is completed does the customer take possession. 

The moment we hold the board for the first time is moment in itself. Typically placing it under the arm to feel the weight and balance.  We do what the shaper does, we look down the rails, the bottom, we admire the finish, the detail and aspects of the board that will make it perform like we hope it will. When you hold a board that has been made for you, there is a feeling that is difficult to describe. Firstly, you’ll be stoked and a grin will immediately appear. Followed quickly by desire to get some wax on it and go surfing. There is a moment the board hits the water, and you paddle it for the first time, and If it paddles well, you really know it’s going to catch waves with ease. When you catch the first wave, you’ll know immediately that your latest plaything feels right. 

I have one board I call ‘silent’. It’s the only way I can describe the feeling of riding it in good waves, and I only ride it in good waves. The design is specifically designed for great waves with a great shape. The rails allows the board to effortlessly cut through the water and in larger waves, it just fits the wave perfectly, the simple nature of the board means hydrodynamics make it so fast and silent.  

Then there is my favourite Longboard. It’s 9’8” and has two beautiful dark wood stringers that give the board strength and aesthetics. The board has no concave, just gentle roll and soft rails from top to tail. The board is also a rounded pintail for smooth turns, and that is just pleasing to the eye. When you stand the board, the outline is simply unbroken. It’s a heavy board, glassed in volan cloth with visible 2” laps and that provides just a little hint of off white colour to the board. This board is smooth in the water and Is my go to board for everyday surfing up to shoulder height. It’s never had, or never will have a leash put on it, on a longboard when your chasing that other feeling of nose riding, they just get in the way, but that’s a whole different discussion for another day. This board just feels effortless when paddling, it flows in turns, and when trimming I can just stand there and let inertia and the kinetic energy of the wave go to work. If I do nose ride, then the tail needs to be locked into the wave and I can stand there, almost floating on air for as long as the wave allows. This is a board, designed from two others and put into one. This board looks and feels right. That is ‘Spielzeug’ right there. Playthings that just feel right, designed by craftsmen who just get it.  I’ve also had boards I’ve sold because they just didn’t feel right. A love hate relationship. If I wasn’t comfortable all the time, then something just was right for me, ‘Get it Gone’!!

Take a look in your den of playthings. Take some time to consider why you love that plaything. The bike, the golf clubs, the art equipment you’ve gathered over time, buying each individual brush for a specific reason. You’ll find there is something about them that just feels right, and that’s why you enjoy them so much. Because in their design, someone added some invisible value that you now feel. 

Spielzeug is a wonderful phrase. Pick something up and see for yourself ad you’ll know. If your plaything feels right, that Spielzeug!

Info: The board below was shaped by craftsman Hugh Brockman at Bos Surfboards. It’s 9’8” and designed to cover many bases but essentially shaped for the type of waves I surf the most, and my style of surfing. The features are very subtle, clean and simple, and yet that’s what I love. The simplicity of this board is what makes this board feel just right. 
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www.wearebos.com
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