The Last Master Craftsman

[PeteG]

Didn't catch all of the story, can't remember if it was on the BBC or Granada this afternoon, but a chap in Salford who has been making wood Lacrosse sticks for 50 years has made his last. The company which has been going for 130 years now only sell plastic ones due to demand! I think his surname was Bennett, but he was the last Master Craftsman in the country. He made 50 anniversary ones, and on the very last one he wrote, "The last one bent".

 

[Alexam]

Possibly this one ? http://www.syracuse.com/kirst/index.ssf ... maker.html

More likely this one ,,, http://www.hattersleysonline.co.uk/Mens-Lacrosse.html

 

[Fromey]

I wonder what makes one a "Master Craftsman"? Surely they are made every generation from fresh stock. Phil Edwards springs to mind.

 

[PeteG]

Possibly this one ? http://www.syracuse.com/kirst/index.ssf ... maker.html

More likely this one ,,, http://www.hattersleysonline.co.uk/Mens-Lacrosse.html

Hattersley is the one Alex, although I got the chaps name wrong, Beckett not Bennett!

I wonder what makes one a "Master Craftsman"? Surely they are made every generation from fresh stock. Phil Edwards springs to mind.

I've often wondered what makes a master craftsman, and who was the first to give himself the title

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Didn't catch all of the story, can't remember if it was on the BBC or Granada this afternoon, but a chap in Salford who has been making wood Lacrosse sticks for 50 years has made his last. The company which has been going for 130 years now only sell plastic ones due to demand!

I have never played lacrosse, but if lacrosse sticks are anything like tennis and squash racquets, or rowing blades, this is entirely understandable.

 

[bugbear]

..but he was the last Master Craftsman in the country.

I'm happy to say I don't believe that to be true.

BugBear

 

[colinb4987]

Didn't catch all of the story, can't remember if it was on the BBC or Granada this afternoon, but a chap in Salford who has been making wood Lacrosse sticks for 50 years has made his last. The company which has been going for 130 years now only sell plastic ones due to demand!

I have never played lacrosse, but if lacrosse sticks are anything like tennis and squash racquets, or rowing blades, this is entirely understandable.

I actually did play lacrosse, and sadly the analogy to tennis and squash racquets doesn't work so well - at least for the men's game.

It's a full contact sport, with a lot of stick-on-stick and stick-on-body action - especially if you're playing in Defense as I did. The ball's cradled in a not particularly deep net at the end of the stick - so by whacking someone else's stick, or by whacking their body, or by simply knocking them to the floor, you can win the ball. Most sticks nowadays are titanium or aluminium (or a few carbon with some knid of metal core), as these mean you can whip them around quickly and change direction easily. However, the pric they pay is robustness and momentum.

As a consequence of all this (and as I'm not especially agile), I actually used to play with a wooden stick. A six-foot long, approximately 2"x0.75" oval octagon of solid hickory, chosen for its density and impact resistance. A purpleheart core would have been ideal for even more heft, but I shudder to even think of the price associated with that. It broke many other people's fancy titanium and aluminium sticks in tackels and fights for ground balls, with a whole bunch more left wondering what the hell just clobbered them across their forearms. Ahh, those were the days... (only stopped playing 7 years ago mind!)