Curious if anyone knows the scoop. I have a few Velzy boards which have the laminate signature “Dale Velzy”. I’ve heard the last few years prior to his death, due to his poor health, there were some ghost shapers keeping the fiberglass boards coming. Makes sense that the laminates were being used. Question is, without knowing the age of the boards, and not seeing an actual signature, how does one know you’ve got the real thing, short of buying a balsa?
Jim Phillips posts here often, and did a lot of shaping for the Velzy label. I have a Velzy egg that I talked with him about. He said if the signature was a lam, it wasn’t shaped by Dale… If the board was signed in pencil, it was.
He might have more to say. I don’t know if that’s an absolute rule.
That said, either way you’re very fortunate. Jim’s an incredible shaper. I’m sure he’d be happy to give you some more information.
Yes, I shaped for Dale the last ten years of his life.
When I did the first shapes for him to “check me out”, he said later to Barry Jones (who actually owned the name Velzy as a business) “I’ve waited 50 Goddamn years for this guy to come along”.
The Velzy’s I shaped are still some of the best ever produced, that’s what you get when a shaper really cares about his work
Hey Jim - saw your other post too. Just wanted to let you know there are people who know & value your stuff too…
These are mine:
I think you shaped all but the center…
Sorry I didn’t get to ask you about them at San O but you & I & everyone else were justifiably focused on your balsa Quigg repros.
When I get a chance to talk to anyone about these boards, there’s one thing I always point out. Pick any single square inch on this board and there will be just a bit of curve to it somehow. Its the one thing I can always pick out about your work - there are no ‘leftover’ areas. Just because a board is 10’ long doesn’t mean it gets large areas of parallel rail & flat bottom. Its a simple illustration that everyone I’ve ever mentioned it to can understand right away…but not every craftsman can reproduce. Not even close.
I didn’t post to this thread when it popped up, hoping you’d get in. Or at least Andrew. But here we are…and let me say to delasol, that Dale Velzy, to my mind, was the best designer the surf world ever knew, but not necessarily its preeminent craftsman. Jim Phillips brought those designs to life like no other shaper could, and you should think of them as more valuable for having been designed by Dale & shaped by Jim than they would be if only one person had created them.
Hey Jim,
Thanks for the reply. Of course the shapes are awesome, I’m just trying to figure out the real story. I’m keeping forever and passing both along to my son. With Dale’s passing, of course everyone has their opinion as to what they “think” they know. The lam signature seems to be throwing me. I appreciate you sharing what you know. I’ve included two pics, the blue Hawaiian print board I bought from the original owner, he got it from Laguna Beach Hobie in the early to mid 90s. The 2nd board, creme w/burgandy pins I got from a local shop a few months ago. It was stuck in the back coverd w/dust. Thanks again.
Dave
In Aust we have some great old shapers but none that equal Dale Velzy.
There was an article in The Surfers Journal that showed how remarkable an athlete, a friend and an entrepreneur Dale was. Kudos to the guys like Jim that faithfully keep his spirit alive as well as show their own talents.