The Stick
An unusual fit of productivity seized me this morning at 02:20 when I could not sleep and decided, instead, to look after some train society business. I also read a chapter in Bruce Dowbiggin's The Stick, a history of the development of the hockey stick.
While the book might sound like an appropriate read for someone trying to get to sleep, it is actually more interesting than it sounds. It traces the construction philosophies of the stick from the crude tools hewn from tree roots, to the two-piece white ash stick of the 1970s, through the development of the wood/fibreglass composites of the 80s, to the carbon sticks of today. I can't say that the disquisition on glues and fibreglass wrap was especially thrilling, but, like a lot of things that don't seem like much on the surface, the the book's nominal subject is as much a commentary on the politics of the NHL, forces of globalisation, Canadian history, and, to a significant degree, ecology and environmental management, as it is a discussion of how to use a piece of wood to make a puck go fast. A lot of innovation in the stick-making process has come from the simple fact that there are fewer and fewer sources of "good wood" in North America out of which sticks can be made.
I'm still really disappointed that he kind of went off his head to become an incredibly reactionary blogger. I don't know if his site is even still up. And, if it is, I don't care.
While the book might sound like an appropriate read for someone trying to get to sleep, it is actually more interesting than it sounds. It traces the construction philosophies of the stick from the crude tools hewn from tree roots, to the two-piece white ash stick of the 1970s, through the development of the wood/fibreglass composites of the 80s, to the carbon sticks of today. I can't say that the disquisition on glues and fibreglass wrap was especially thrilling, but, like a lot of things that don't seem like much on the surface, the the book's nominal subject is as much a commentary on the politics of the NHL, forces of globalisation, Canadian history, and, to a significant degree, ecology and environmental management, as it is a discussion of how to use a piece of wood to make a puck go fast. A lot of innovation in the stick-making process has come from the simple fact that there are fewer and fewer sources of "good wood" in North America out of which sticks can be made.
I'm still really disappointed that he kind of went off his head to become an incredibly reactionary blogger. I don't know if his site is even still up. And, if it is, I don't care.