South african clubs

ggoudie · 3rd July 2006, 10:19 PM

I am not going for the lathe idea the carving must mean something to them .Even modern knobkerries are hand carved .

fearn · 3rd July 2006, 11:58 PM

I'm not arguing that the carvings are meaningless. I am saying that the heads on these club heads do not appear to be carved into a botanical pattern. I'm puzzled by the dimple at the top of the head. There are three reasons that I can think of for such a dimple:

1) it's artistic (always possible, but it can be a fancy way of saying "I don't know, but it must have been put there for a reason").
2) the tree these came from has a central pith (like a walnut), and the central pit is an unavoidable remnant of that pith. I've got a number of walnut walking sticks, harvested locally, and the central pith doesn't particularly look like the dimples on these clubs. It's not impossible, just unlikely IMHO.
3) it's a result of the manufacturing process, suggesting that the club was turned on a lathe (either spring-cranked or machine). I agree that this is explanation works better for the shaft than the head, but it's still my favorite.

F

3rd July 2006, 10:19 PM	#1
ggoudie Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 29	I am not going for the lathe idea the carving must mean something to them .Even modern knobkerries are hand carved .

3rd July 2006, 11:58 PM	#2
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	I'm not arguing that the carvings are meaningless. I am saying that the heads on these club heads do not appear to be carved into a botanical pattern. I'm puzzled by the dimple at the top of the head. There are three reasons that I can think of for such a dimple: 1) it's artistic (always possible, but it can be a fancy way of saying "I don't know, but it must have been put there for a reason"). 2) the tree these came from has a central pith (like a walnut), and the central pit is an unavoidable remnant of that pith. I've got a number of walnut walking sticks, harvested locally, and the central pith doesn't particularly look like the dimples on these clubs. It's not impossible, just unlikely IMHO. 3) it's a result of the manufacturing process, suggesting that the club was turned on a lathe (either spring-cranked or machine). I agree that this is explanation works better for the shaft than the head, but it's still my favorite. F