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Fingerboard (skateboard)
Encyclopedia
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
complete with moving wheel
Wheel
A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
s, graphics and trucks. A fingerboard is 96 millimeters long or longer, and can have a variety of widths like 26mm (regular), 28mm (wide), and 29mm and up (extra wide). There are the 57mm minis and the 96mm regular and the cruiser boards. Skateboarding trick
Skateboarding trick
A skateboarding trick, or simply a trick is a maneuver performed on a skateboard while skateboarding. Learning and perfecting new tricks is the primary goal of many skateboarders, for whom most of the time spent skateboarding is spent on tricks....
s may be performed using fingers instead of feet. Most tricks done on a fingerboard are the same as people do on skateboards. Lance Mountain
Lance Mountain
Robert Lance Mountain was one of the more popular skateboarders throughout much of the 1980s, and one of the five most legendary members of the Bones Brigade, as featured in the 1987 classic The Search For Animal Chin .Mountain was born in Pasadena, California...
helped develop fingerboarding as a hobby
Hobby
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...
in the late 1970s and wrote an article on how to make fingerboards in TransWorld
Transworld Skateboarding
Transworld SKATEboarding is a skateboarding magazine, website, and production company.Founded in 1983, TWS was a response to Thrasher Magazine and specifically to the December 1982 article ‘Skate and Destroy’ written by C.R...
's SKATEboarding magazine
Skateboarder magazine
Skateboarder Magazine was first published in 1964 as a quarterly during the first skateboarding boom by Surfer Publications out of Dana Point, California. After an initial release of only four issues in 1964–65, it ceased publication until the first big skateboard revival of the early 1970s...
in 1985.
Although fingerboarding was a novelty for years, they became a collectible toy as skateboard manufacturers realized the potential for product branding and profit starting in the 1990s. Fingerboards are now available as inexpensive novelty toys as well as high-end collectibles, complete with accessories one would find in use with standard-size skateboards. Fingerboards are also used by skateboarders as 3-D
Three-dimensional space
Three-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
model visual aids to understand potential tricks and maneuvers; many users make videos to document their efforts.
Similar to fingerboarding, handboarding is a scaled-down version of a skateboard that a user controls with their hands instead of just fingers, while finger snowboarding utilizes a miniature version of a snowboard
Snowboard
Snowboards are boards, usually with a width the length of one's foot, with the ability to glide on snow. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user...
.
History
Fingerboards were first created as homemade toys in the 1970s and later became a novelty attached to keyKey (lock)
A key is an instrument that is used to operate a lock. A typical key consists of two parts: the blade, which slides into the keyway of the lock and distinguishes between different keys, and the bow, which is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the user. The blade is usually intended to...
chains in skate shops (but were also mentioned as a model for a skateboard.) In the 1985 documentary "Future Primitive" a homemade fingerboard was ridden in a sink; some consider this the earliest fingerboard footage available for public viewing. Currently fingerboards are a popular hobby in Berlin, Germany, as well as all over the world and often made of wood veneer. The homemade fingerboard was built from cardboard, coffee stirrers, and Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels is a brand of die cast toy car, introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel acquired rights to the Matchbox brand from Tyco.-Models:...
axle
Axle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...
s. Fingerboards have been a peripheral part of the skateboarding industry since the late 1980s and were originally marketed as keychains. Although barely "rideable," they were improved upon by the Tech Deck brand which mass produced a "rideable" miniature skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
. The first entertainment licensed fingerboards were introduced by Bratz Toys, released through a Hong Kong-based toy company named Prime Time Toys, and designed by Pangea, the company that helped develop the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
toy line for Playmates Toys. The designs were harnessed from entertainment properties such as "Speed Racer," "Woody Woodpecker," "NASCAR," "Heavy Metal," and "Crash Bandicoot." The licensed boards drove the Tech Deck brand into licensing strong urban brands, rather than simply creating their own designs. In the late 1990s, as fingerboards became more prominent outside the skateboarding community, X-Concepts' Tech Decks licensed "actual pro graphics from major skateboard brands" riding "the 1999 fingerboard wave right into Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
and other major outlets." In 1999 there was a Tech Deck fashion of collecting one of each design similar to the Beanie Baby
Beanie Baby
A Beanie Baby is a stuffed animal, made by Ty Warner Inc., which was later renamed as Ty Inc. in late 1993. Each toy has an inner "posable lining" and is stuffed with plastic pellets rather than conventional stuffing , giving Beanie Babies a flexible feel.The original nine Beanie Babies launched...
fad months prior. Thus, Tech Deck, and its distributors at Spin Master Toys, suddenly found themselves a large market to milk. Entertainment-based fingerboard brands couldn't compete against the urban juggernaut, and eventually disappeared. Other "major players in the skateboard industry" soon followed in hopes of reaping profits as young toy-playing children would choose to take up fingerboarding. More modern fingerboards feature "interchangeable wheels and trucks, a fairly accurate scale size, and pad-printed graphics reproduced from the most popular skateboard companies in the business." They thus developed the fingerboard into a collectible
Collectible
A collectable or collectible is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector . There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old...
toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
and the practice into a "form of mental skating".
Fingerboarding is popular in Europe, Singapore, Asia and the United States, and there is growing popularity in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. Besides skateshops and the internet, Fingaspeak, a fingerboard store opened in Steyr
Steyr
Steyr is a town, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Steyr and Enns. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and simultaneously the 3rd largest town in Upper Austria....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
although rumored to be the world's first fingerboard store, it joins a very small list of fingerboard stores that are available. Although the sport of fingerboarding originated in the United States over 25 years ago it has really caught on fire in the European scene. The United States is following and it is estimated that although the popularity seems to be in favor of the Europeans, the American Fingerboard scene has equal sales. This may be due to the flooding of the market and the availability of resources in the United States. Fingerboarding has evolved from a hobby to a lifestyle for some people. Fingerboarders have regular "contest
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
s, fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
s, workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
s and other events". Fingerboard-product sales were estimated at $120-million for 1999.
Fingerboarding is a good match for videography as the action can be controlled and framing the activity offers opportunities for creativity. With the rise of the online video
Video clip
Video clips are short clips of video, usually part of a longer recording. The term is also more loosely used to mean any short video less than the length of a traditional television program.- On the Internet :...
business from early 2006, fueled, in part, because the feature that allows e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
ing clips to friends, several thousand finger board and handboard videos can now be found on popular video-sharing sites such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Thus even if the weather does not permit a skateboarder to practice outside they could try a potential trick with their scaled-down fingerboard and related items and share the video with whomever they wished.
Usage
Middle finger
The middle finger or long finger is the third digit of the human hand, located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is usually the longest finger...
goes on the "tail" (back end), and the index finger
Index finger
The index finger, , is the first finger and the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the first and third digits, between the thumb and the middle finger...
goes on the middle of the board or vice versa if it does not feel comfortable to ride in the fashion that was previously stated. A variety of innovative tricks from classic, so-called "old-school", to more original and creative maneuvers can be envisioned and done on a small scale either for the enjoyment alone or as a precursor to one's skateboarding experiences where individual style and diversification of tricks is rewarded.
Fingerboards are used by a range of people from those utilizing them as toys to skateboarding and related sports professionals envisioning not only their own skating maneuvers but for others as well and can include the use for planning out competition courses as skating boarding develops into an international sport. Similar to train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
enthusiasts building railway models
Rail transport modelling
Railway modelling or model railroading is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale...
, fingerboard hobby
Hobby
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...
ists often construct and purchase reduced scale
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
model figure
Model figure
A model figure is a scale model representing a human, monster or other creature. Human figures may be either a generic figure of a type , a historical personage , or a fictional character .Model figures are sold both as kits for enthusiast to construct and paint and as pre-built, pre-painted...
s that would be considered natural features to an urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
skateboarder such as handrail
Handrail
A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide stability or support. Handrails are commonly used while ascending or descending stairways and escalators in order to prevent injurious falls. Other applications include bathroom handrails—which help to prevent falls on...
s, bench
Bench (furniture)
A bench is a piece of furniture, on which several people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials. Many benches have arm and back rests; some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In public areas,...
es, and stairs
Stairs
-People:* Scott Kannberg , guitarist of Pavement* A. Edison Stairs , New Brunswick politician* Denis Stairs , engineer, Montreal businessman* Ernest W. Stairs , New Brunswick politician...
they would be likely to encounter while riding. In addition users might build and buy items seen in a skatepark
Skatepark
A skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, aggressive inline skating and scooters. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs stairsets,...
including half-pipe
Half-pipe
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, and inline skating. The structure is wood, concrete, metal, earth, or snow. It resembles a cross section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps , topped by copings and...
s, quarter pipe
Quarter pipe
A Quarter pipe is a ramp used in extreme sports which resembles a quarter of the cross section of a pipe. They are most commonly found in skateparks and a skiing/snowboarding terrain park, although the trained eye of an extreme sports fan can find them in modern day architecture...
s, trick boxes, vert ramp
Vert ramp
A vert ramp is a form of half-pipe used in "extreme sports" such as skateboarding.Another form of half-pipe is the mini ramp.Vert ramps are so named because they transition from a horizontal plane to a vertical wall....
s, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, and any number of other trick-oriented objects. These objects can be used simply for enjoyment and also to assist the visualization of skateboarding tricks or the "flow" from one trick to the next (or to create "lines"). Fingerboarding events feature some of the latest elaborate models and accessories; many of the manufacturers features photos and videos on their websites.
Components
Griptape is the friction tape adhered to the topside of the deck to enable users to more easily maintain control of the deck. There are many types of griptape. Some use standard skateboard griptape although the griptape may wear out faster on fingerboards as they endure more moisture from sweat and oils from user's hands. There are also softer alternatives and grippy tape which is less harsh on a user's fingers allowing them to fingerboard for longer periods of time. Examples of this tape are Riptape, FBS Extra Smooth, Pro-Tape and Daliri tape. Trucks are the structures attached to the bottom of the deck that house the wheels and bushings. Some trucks are all one molded piece while others are scaled-down versions of regular skateboard trucks. As fingerboarding has evolved "collector" and "pro" versions have emerged with some brands shaped using special instruments to make them lighter and look better. Bushings
Bushing (isolator)
A bushing or rubber bushing is a type of vibration isolator. It provides an interface between two parts, damping the energy transmitted through the bushing. A common application is in vehicle suspension systems, where a bushing made of rubber separates the faces of two metal objects while allowing...
are pliable material that provide the cushion mechanism for turning a standard skateboard but on a fingerboard help stabilize the trucks thus keeping the wheels in the same position to enable stronger tricks and visual appeal. Collector and "pro" brand bushings are made from many different types of squishy material, usually rubberized plastic or rubber. The wheels can determine how smooth the ride is thus what kind of "flow" a user's ride can be. The professional brands are traditionally made out of a variety of different materials, and have small ball-bearings inside the bearings to enhance the smoothness.
Tech Deck makes hard plastic also wooden skateboards skateboards and borrows designs from many well-known skateboard manufacturers, such as Blind, Flip
Flip Skateboards
Flip Skateboards is a US-based international skateboard company, owned by Jeremy Fox, Ian Deacon, and Geoff Rowley. The company produces skateboard decks, wheels, and clothing. Flip is distributed by NHS Distribution in the US.- History :...
, and Element
Element Skateboards
Element Skateboards is a skateboard manufacturer and surfwear retailer based in Irvine, California. It is a subsidiary of Australian clothing giants Billabong International....
. They use grip tape, and professional graphics. The stock trucks on Tech Decks are made of die-cast metal and have two separate axles for the wheels to roll on. The wheels are made out of plastic along with the bushings. Some fingerboarders prefer the feel and performance of decks made from wood. Wooden decks can be made from 3-7 plies of a given veneer; maple, walnut, and mahogany being the most popular. All of the hole-drilling and shaping is done by hand or with the aid of a machine, thus the price is higher. A wooden deck from a popular company can have a low to high price range usually depending on the quality of the deck you are going to purchase, prices range from 10 - $52 USD. Wooden fingerboard makers are now offering custom designs- you can chose from their line of graphics or send in your own. The wooden boards come in a variety of widths from 26 - 32mm and concave can vary greatly from maker to maker. Some companies offer even more customization options such as the choosing of the plies used to go into the deck, as well as the width/length of the deck Along with wooden decks, advanced fingerboarder's also tend to prefer bearing wheels to plastic. Bearing wheels can be made from a range of materials such as teflon, urethane, silicon, and fiberglass. The wheels are usually put into a lathe to ensure the best shape. Once the wheels have been readied, bearings are put into place to increase the smoothness of the wheels rolling on the axle. Tuning screws for the wheels cause the wheels to roll more smoothly. Rather than using the stock axles and kingpins that come on Tech Deck trucks, some more advanced fingerboards use tuning screws, softer 'foam griptape' and custom kingpins to ensure that wheels and hangars are more properly secured. Board rails can be added to the deck bottom similar to those used on a standard skateboard. Fingerboards made with plastic are sometimes modified by heating the plastic to shape it such as making the kicks higher or adding concavity.
Fingersnowboarding and handboards
Similar to fingerboarding, fingersnowboarding is snowboardingSnowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
on a small-scale snowboard controlled with one's fingers. In December 1999 the first-ever World Snowboard Fingerboard Championships was held with a cash prize of C$1,000.00. Sponsored by companies such as Gravity Fingerboards, Transworld Snowboarding and Snowboard Life magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s and others the competition featured twenty competitors utilizing a custom "fingerboard snowboard park." Tom Sims
Tom Sims
Tom Sims, Born 1950, is a former World Snowboarding Champion , World Champion Skateboarder and founder of Sims Snowboards and Sims Skateboards...
, a world champion of snowboarding, ended his run by landing his fingersnowboard into a flaming
Flaming beverage
Flaming beverages include cocktails and other mixed drinks that contain a small amount of flammable high-proof alcohol, which is ignited prior to consumption. The flames are decorative and do not change the flavor of the drinks noticeably. Flaming cocktails are more spectacular in dimly lit...
shotglass of Sambuka; he was treated for minor burns and donated his winning prize to Surfrider Foundation's Snowrider Project and to Board AID. (A photo of the course can be seen http://snowboarding.transworld.net/1999/12/17/snowtopia-99-tom-sims-wins-world-fingersnowboard-championships/.
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
roughly half to a third of the size of a standard skateboard (11 inches) and utilizes a person's hands rather than just their finger
Finger
A finger is a limb of the human body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates....
s to control the board and perform trick
Trick
Trick may refer to:* Trick , a 2009 album by Kumi Koda* Trick , a 1999 American film* Tricks , a 2007 Polish film by Andrzej Jakimowski* Trick , a comedic Japanese television drama...
s and maneuver
Maneuver
Maneuver, manoeuvre may be a synonym for strategy or tactic. It is the manipulation of a situation in order to gain some advantage.- Military or naval movement :* Military exercise...
s. Handboards, because of their larger size, more closely match details of a standard skateboard. For instance a skateboard truck, the wheel structure, would more likely to match part for part an actual skateboard truck rather than be a cast one-piece construction or otherwise simplified. If a user preferred a particular type of wood or decorative style that could also more easily resemble a full-scale skateboard.
Further reading
- Finger Skate Board Tricks and Tips Prepack by Susan Buntrock (2000); Scholastic, Incorporated - ISBN 0439217148.
- Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End by Justin Hocking, Jeff Knutson, Jared Jacang Maher (2004); Soft Skull Press - ISBN 193236028X. (See Whaling chapter by Justin Hocking).