What does ‘hand shaped’ mean?
Within the context of surfboard building the term ‘hand shaped’ traditionally means that the surfboard was sculpted from a raw surfboard blank by hand, with power and hand tools. This means milling the thickness and rocker with a power planer, drawing out then cutting the outline with a saw, and contouring the board with the planer and various hand tools until finished.
Often times these days manufacturers, surf shops and writers bend the term, intentionally or unintentionally, to cover machine shaped surfboard building also. It is a beautiful and romantic tag-line that surf brands can’t help but lean on, generally defending the use with the statement that they’re still “finished by hand”. Though technically one does use their hands and light tools to finish a CNC-machine-cut shape, to ‘hand shape’ has always meant more than the mere action of hands touching the board.
I believe that words matter and that keeping the definition of this term sacred does a number of positive things; First, it breeds honesty and trust. Second, it specifically defines the origins of something each surfer hold dear, and speaks to the heart and care that it was created with. Third, it categorizes methods of building into their right places in order to be valued as such - both in terms of financial cost, as well as respect for a rare craft. If we blur the line between ‘hand’ and ‘machine’, then we throw away the value of something that generations of surfers have dedicated their lives to.
