I'm almost two weeks late on this, but I have to give a shout-out to Jeff McKamey of Twisting Creek Calls. I asked Jeff to make me a version of his Walnut over Wormy Chestnut shortbox awhile back, but with Bloodwood instead of the Walnut. Unbeknownst to me or Jeff at the time, those two woods absolutely hate each other.
Jeff sure has been a persistent you-know-what with my request, so much so that I'm having nightmares about all the wood I've caused to waste. On one occasion down the road (one of many), I remember mentioning to Jeff that I could not find a single Bloodwood/Wormy Chestnut (or just plain Chestnut, for that matter) call out there in the world. You would think that would clue at least one of us in to give up on this white whale, but no, the hunt continued!
After much sanding, thinning, thickening (not sure how that one works), and god knows what else to the paddle(s), and work on the chamber, to no avail, I finally asked Ole Snakeboots to give up on the project and send me a walnut over chestnut. He promptly refused and said that he might eventually comply, if absolutely necessary, and include the bloodwood/chestnut one as a non-functioning (or less than perfect sound) gift. Well, that must not have sit well with him for long, because the next time we spoke he was back at that Bloodwood again. I may have actually found someone who is as stubborn as me.
Finally, Jeff called me a few weeks ago, and he had the Bloodwood sounding much better, but still not up to his high standards. Again, I asked him to just give up on the bloodwood, to which he again promptly refused. Not only that, but he let me listen to a group of walnut/chestnut boxes and pick out the one I liked best as a Christmas gift (see below)! It is definitely the best Christmas gift I received this year (sorry, Camille), and it's hard to believe that someone can be so nice, generous, and moreover, dedicated to his craft.
I've been running it ever since I got it, to the point at which I believe the wife is checking the calendar to make sure it isn't March. I showed it to my cousin the first night I got it, and when he shined his light at it you could see it coming out on the other side of the worm holes! I wasn't even aware that they went all the way through prior to that. The sound is second to none, as is of course screams feathers! I could ramble about this call all day, but instead I'll stop and get to the pictures. So, here is the call that will certainly be with me on opening day. Again, thank you Jeff for all that you do and especially for this call!
