I've been watching this thread and waited till I had enough free time to reply. I enjoy and share Bloodhounds soapbox. I am very much a hunter and call purchaser/user/admirer, as I am a call builder.
Here is my thoughts. Grab a cup of cofee...it's going to be a long one.
Just to clarify. Here are definitions that I am referring to, with my thoughts.
Webster's Dictionary:
Love - "An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object." or "An expression of one's affection." or "Sexual Intercourse" (Hope the last one doesn't apply!) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Custom-Made - "Made according to the specifications of an individual purchaser."
Hand-Crafted - "To fashion or make by hand."
First of all, Bloodhound, Thank You for sharing your thoughts. Your appreciation for objects that you hold close to your heart and/or came from the heart, is right in-line with mine.
On the topic of "Love". I don't think you could have picked a better word. There is alot of "Love" and/or emotion that goes into every call for a call builder. It's an ability to express our ourselves. Turning a dollar has nothing to do with building calls. Believe me, there's no money in it, as almost every dollar goes back into materials and tools. Once in a while, money is set aside for calling trips.
On the confusion of "Custom vs Hand Crafted", here are my thoughts. All my calls are hand crafted/made, but not all my calls are custom. (See definitions above.) I always try to classify calls as Custom or Pre-made when I advertise them.
I have hand-crafted cabinets in my home. They are not "Custom" cabinets, as they were prebuilt by the cabinet maker. If I were to sit down with the builder, listen to his ideas, give him my ideas, measurements, grain angle choices, etc... then they would be "Custom" made for me. I don't expect the builder to hand wittle them from a single piece of wood, hand forge the hinges and screws from brass that he mined from the ground, just to call them "Custom".
If I ordered a new Corvette, picked out the paint, wheels, interior, engine, etc.. That car would be custom built for me, at the factory. I don't expect the craftsmen to hand mold the fiberglass, melt their own glass into windshields, etc... to make it "Custom".
I feel that "Custom Made" is all about building a specific item for someone. Anyone who purchased a custom call from me, answered a series of questions to help customize it to them. We co-designed the call together, before I started on it. A good example is my antler calls. I ask questions like: Type of terrain you call in? Do you call left or right handed? What is your favorite call, now? What type of volume are you looking for? What type of pitch (cottontail or jackrabbit)? Do you want rasp or high pitch focused on the call? Any name or nickname engraved to personalize it? Etc...
I enjoy building both Custom calls and Pre-made ones. The more I get to know a caller, the more emotionally attached I get to a call when building it for them.
On the other hand, I have ideas in my head that I build into prototype calls. There is alot of affection and excitement in it. The other night, I built a prototype for a new "top secret" call design. Once I tested it, I jumped on the phone and called Timbertoes, like a dang school girl. "Man, listen to this, check this out, do it again, dang....." I've listened to many of Timbertoes calls over the phone, as well.
My wife just rolls her eyes. She thinks there is something mentally wrong with two grown men blowing predator calls over the phone for an hour.
Here's a quote that I posted on a similar topic on another board, not too long ago:
Quote:
I haven't had this much fun, in along time. It's great to be around guys who get as excited over a piece of horn, plastic or wood, as I do.
Everyone needs a passion, ours is building things that sound like you are castrating a live cat, rabbit, squirrel, dog, etc... Sick isn't it???
I don't believe a call builder needs to chop down his own trees, melt his own recycled pop bottles, hand-wittle his own toneboards, etc... to be a Custom Call Builder.
This is just my thoughts on the subject.
Tony
