Blockhead Skateboards holds a strange place in my personal skateboarding history. It is easily one of the top 4 brands that I admired in the 80’s, and yet I never actually owned one. I did own one of those Easter Island head shirts, and we interviewed Sam Cunningham in issue #5 of Skate and Annoy when it was a zine. And our buddy Swiv was on the flow team for a while. Added to the list of things I said I would do but never quite got around to is making a website for Blockhead Skateboards. Well, Dave and Ron have done fine without my help, and now they are back in business with new decks and re-issues as well. If you blinked then you missed the availability of the original Streetstyle deck cut from blanks pressed when the deck was in the final phases of production. These uncut blanks (maple and fiberglass) were almost 30 years old, and were kept in storage by a former manager of the Uncle Wiggley wood shop. Only 30 of these were made available, and not surprisingly, they sold out within a day. So, I apologize to our readers for not getting this out sooner. If it’s any consolation, There’s still lots of Blockhead goodness available, and you can still get a Skate Crate from Dave. I’m kicking myself for not ponying up for one of these…

This picture doesn’t do the size of these bearing covers justice. These tiny wheels are not the result of hipster irony or a 90’s street skating reenactment hobbyist. It’s a result of Zoo Bombing, slipping axles, exposed axle nuts being ground down, and yes, economics. It’s his birthday soon, so he’s looking forward to a new set of wheels and trucks.

Licensed Masters of the Universe prodcuct via Threadless. I never cared for that cartoon, but I can appreciate a good remix. Skeletor and She-Ra on a skateboard. She-Ra has som custom Air Jordans.

– Thanks to Pig City for the tip.

Cheap fingerboards are a dime a dozen or in this case, $36 a dozen. The packaging on these cheap toys is worth more that the actual product. Fingerboards from China… I know. Who cares? I always like a good sports crossover, and this serves as your reminder to watch the USA vs Columbia in today’s Women’s World Cup. That match starts at 5pm Pacific time.

I had no choice but to purchase this. As soon as it arrives from Italy, I’ll take better pictures. The box is priceless.

– Thanks to David ODK for the tip.

P.S. Please don’t tell my wife.

This is a picture of a page from something called The Daisy Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting, thanks to longtime friend of the site Danimal and his daughter.

Check out eBay Watch: April 2015.

No, X-Carve is not another alternative skateboard designed to simulate surfing and snowboarding. It’s a hobbyist or slightly better grade CNC machine made by Inventables, a company whose goal is to bring manufacturing capabilities to (very) small business owners and DIY designers/inventors. There are small commercial CNC machines available, but not at this price point, which is roughly $800-$1300, depending on the size you want. There are also open source DIY plans for making your own CNC machines, but those can end up costing about the same, and while there are communities out there, support and troubleshooting building your own machinery, sourcing materials and integrating the software can be a daunting task for some. I’ve been trolling DIY CNC machines on and off for years for use specifically in manufacturing skateboards, and I would be ready to pull the trigger on an X-Carve setup (or at least set up a Kickstarter! Gimme, gimme, gimme…) but even though the X-Carve is specifically advertised as being capable of making skateboards, the reality is that it isn’t quite big enough for actual skateboard manufacturing. I’ll explain why after the jump.

[Photo (Top right): Skateboard cut out with X-carve – Blue Sky photos / Chicago Tribune )

Sure, half the year is over, but at only $5 this 2015 calendar is 66% off. Brought to you by Sam McPheeters and Jesse Michaels.

The competition was fierce in the Austin X-Games with multiple corporations battling for mind share in the critical 16-25 year old male consumer category. Some mind blowing social media tricks were unveiled in marketplace competition for the first time. Crowds cheered as skillful, death defying advertising strategies were executed at will. And there was some skateboarding too. Monster Energy wants you to know how well their guys placed in the . Pierre Luc Gagnon and Curren Caples scored a gold while Tom Scharr got a bronze. They sent photos too, in case you don’t believe them. That’s right, we’re not afraid to toe the corporate line.

UPDATE: Adding pics as they send them, Nyjah Houston, etc…