From skateboards to shades
Dave de Witt has a passion for wood and creating unique objects, namely skateboard [sk8] shades.
Here's another Master of Wood courtesy of the Triton Tools blog.
Dave de Witt is a man with a passion for wood, and creating unique objects. Dave is the talent behind sk8shades - a range of shades made from used skateboards that have rolled in pools, ridden inner cities and bombed down daunting hills. Sk8shades are one-of-a-kind sunglasses [shades] that have stories, travels and good times etched into the wood. Although he doesn't claim to have invented wood frame sunglasses, nor sunglasses made from skateboards, here in South Africa Dave adds his unique touch to a range of sk8shades that are sold on Etsy.
"It was necessity that led me to make my first pair of shades and from there develop my own procedure for producing quality wooden frames." says Dave. "When my frames broke I decided it was time for me to make my own.
Old boards are ripped, cross-cut, planed, cross-cut again, laminated, cured, cut into veneers, cross-laminated, cured again, shaped, edged, grooved, hardware attached, sanded, assembled, tested, adjusted, disassembled, sealed, smoothed, polished, assembled and packaged. Jock uses a cross layer in the core for added strength and cuts the temple arms from the nose and tail of the skateboards. The temples are available in clean and dirty cuts. The dirty cut comes from the bottom of the board and shows all the signs of the boards previous life, while the clean cuts bring fresh wood to the surface for a cleaner look.
On all sk8shades the lenses are Polarized, UV400 protected, scratch resistant, shock absorbent and optically correct. Spring hinges are standard on all shades.
Hardwood frames available in African Blackwood, Zebrano, Bird's Eye Maple, Wild Olive, Panga Panga, Candlewood, Sneeze Wood and more.
