Brand-X skateboards are being re-issued! These are hand screened (not heat transfers) made by Watson Laminates, the same company that produced Brand-X boards before they shut down. However, it gets a little tricky here. Bernie Tostenson owned and screened and supervised the original Brand-X, but he sold the company in 1986, but stuck around to supervise until some time in 1989. The company rereleasing these is the one that bought it from Bernie. It’s unclear whether or not these early Brand-X designs were ever produced by Watson, and they do mention having to recreate the separations, a task that I know to be a time consuming one. The decks have an old school truck pattern but will be distinguishable as re-releases by varied color ways on the top graphic as well as being laser etched in editions of 111 each. The first three models are the Knucklehead and two variations of the Weirdo, one on a natural wood that has not actually been released before.

As a sometime purveyor of and fan of hand screened skateboards, I’ve had Lovenskate on my radar before. Their new promo The Connoisseur of Quality really takes it to the next level. The next level of what? The next level of quality. Well done lads. [Source: Huck] – Thanks to MC for the tip.

Having printed more than a handful of skateboards myself, and designed a few jigs, I’ve always considered the possibility of somehow adapting a textile press for printing skateboards. The crew at Jolly Roger Skateboards are actually producing them. So far each Skate Mate sold has been configured for Lawson and Ryonet presses, but they are built on demand and can be made to fit any commercial press, including table tops. The wheelbase is easily adjustable which is critical for printing the same design on multiple size boards. Even though it can fit on a multiple color press, you’re still going to want to print skateboards like flat stock, one color at a time. So what’s the point? It could help with keeping better registration, especially if you have side clamps. You won’t need a kickstand to hold the screen up when placing boards and it saves space if you work in tight confines and already own a textile press. It’s pretty spendy at $300, but the build quality looks very high and prices are expected to come down as they recoup some development costs. The Skate Mate isn’t going to be for everyone, for one thing, it’s not going to…