Today, I headed out to the Toyohira River trail for a long-overdue session with my LSK8 buddy, KazNee.
The pavement was still a little damp in the morning, but after about an hour, it dried up nicely. We took our time, soaking in the calm atmosphere while waiting for the conditions to improve—and once they did, we cruised.
My board of choice this time was the MAGNETO. It’s one of the shorter decks in my LSK8 lineup, but it strikes a great balance: the smooth glide of a longboard combined with the satisfying flex of bamboo. It’s a joy to ride.
We only had about two hours, but that was more than enough. With the crisp autumn breeze brushing past us, it turned into a truly refreshing and rewarding ride.
After a busy stretch at work, I’m finally getting back to the LSK8 project next week. I’ve just finished the third design: it features a Hawaiian surf vibe with a TikiGirl character as the centerpiece. I chose a clear deck tape to highlight the texture of the board itself.
Now the fun part begins—deciding which design to go with!
This time, I developed a new design while keeping in mind the flat graphic style used previously. To ensure the message is easily readable when the board is standing, I adopted a vertical layout.
The deck tape on the fore side is separated, with the studio logo placed at the center. The overall atmosphere is inspired by fabric designs from the 1970s, aiming to evoke a sense of nostalgia while maintaining a modern impression.
I recently received an early model of a Gravity skateboard from a friend who no longer rides. This particular deck features a completely flat design with no concave or camber—simple, yet quite distinctive. Paired with 6-inch trucks and 73mm big wheels, it offers impressive stability. It's fascinating to see how Gravity was experimenting with such unique setups back then.
At first, I considered just cleaning and tuning it up for a ride. However, since the board is over 30 years old and had been left in a garage for years, the nose and tail laminates had started to separate. It was clear that some restoration work was needed.
To assess the condition, I began by disassembling the board and applying paint remover to strip off the old finish. It took four rounds of application and removal before the wood finally emerged. Unfortunately, the top wood on the nose was more deteriorated than expected. Even with resin repairs, the wood itself was partially decayed, making restoration difficult.
So I decided to take a bold step and redesign the deck entirely. I chose a "vintage pintail cut" for the new shape. Using a flexible vinyl guide, I traced the cut lines, then used a jigsaw to shape the deck. After that, it was hours of sanding. The result turned out cleaner than I had imagined.
This marks my third custom skateboard design, and I’m finding the process more enjoyable each time. Now comes the fun part—deciding on the graphic design. I’m excited to see where this creative journey takes me next.
woke up unusually early this morning, so I headed to the Toyohira River riverside as usual. Since I had plans to go to the Autumn Fest with some students later in the morning, I decided to enjoy just an hour of LSK8 cruising.
Lately, I’ve been riding my Magneto board a lot, but today I felt like going back to basics and chose my very first board — the ShaftWood. These days, there are all kinds of deck shapes and cut designs, like 3D-shaped decks or low-mounted types, but the ShaftWood is a classic Gravity-style straight deck with narrow 6-inch trucks.
This board holds a special place in my heart because it was the start of my LSK8 journey.
Originally, it came with KRYPTOS wheels — 1 3/8 inches wide and 56mm in diameter — but I recently swapped them out for 2-inch wide, 70mm wheels. The difference is amazing! It used to slide a bit, but now the grip has improved so much that I can lean into turns with confidence.
It’s the perfect cruiser for relaxed and easy rides. Sometimes, going back to your roots is just what you need.
Today was a solo ride kind of day—my LSK8 crew couldn’t make it, so I hit the riverside on my own for the first time in a while.
Just like when I’m out in the winter mountains, solo sessions tend to get a little intense… I always end up riding way more than usual.
When I’m with friends, it’s usually one run followed by a 10-minute break, and we repeat that rhythm. In two hours, I might get in 10 runs tops.
But solo? I was hopping on every five minutes. Sure, I took breaks, but still ended up riding nearly twice as much.
And since I cruised for three hours today, I probably clocked around 35 runs. Not bad at all.
The extra time gave me space to experiment with stance and foot placement, and I’m finally getting comfortable with this board.
Solo rides have their own kind of focus—quiet, steady, and full of small discoveries.
I actually wanted to test out a freshly painted new deck today, but I’m saving it for next weekend’s Shineidai Autumn Festivalin Ebetsu.
I’ll be showcasing and selling it there, so I held back from riding it… with great effort.
That said, if it doesn’t sell, I’m totally riding it myself. Honestly, I kind of hope it doesn’t sell (just kidding… sort of).
After about a month and a half of working on it between jobs since August 6th, I finally finished my original LSK8!
It took a while to settle on the design—I sketched around 10 rough drafts, and even then, I ended up adding a fox to the logo at the last minute to give it a unique touch.
For the lines, I used a burning pen to draw directly onto the wood. Natural wood has both hard and soft areas, so keeping the line thickness consistent took a lot of patience. I spent about three days slowly working through it.
For color, I used a set of dye-based inks from Daiso. They worked great—the colors really pop when applied like a wood stain.
To finish it off, I applied 5–6 coats of gloss varnish for a shiny, polished look.
I’m honestly so happy with how it turned out!
It’ll be on display and available for purchase at the Shineidai Autumn Festival in Ebetsu on Saturday, September 27th. Come check it out in person if you can!
Last time, I finally finalized the design and traced it onto the deck board. And this time, I moved on to the exciting part—drawing the lines with a burning pen!
I’m using the “Nikko My Pen Alpha,” a woodburning pen that looks a bit like a soldering iron. Once you switch it on, the tip heats up instantly, and you can change the tip shape depending on the kind of line or detail you want to create. If you're curious, you can check it out here → Nikko My Pen Alpha (Amazon link)
Even though the board looks smooth at first glance, the wood grain and occasional resin make the process more challenging than expected. I wanted to keep the line thickness and burn intensity as consistent as possible, so I took my time—two full days, in fact—to finish all the lines.
Finally, I’ve made it this far!
Next up is the coloring process, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
At first, I was planning to draw a sleek, sharp-looking fox before the logo, but it didn’t quite match the laid-back vibe of cruising on an LSK8. So I switched gears and went with a relaxed, floppy fox instead.
Once the composition was set, I traced it in Adobe Illustrator and printed it out at full scale. After piecing it together, I transferred the design onto the board.
That’s where I’m stopping for today.
I’d love to jump right into the next step, but since I’m squeezing this in between work, the fun will have to wait a little longer!
After a long stretch of work and unpredictable weather, I finally had a day off. Three of us—my usual backcountry crew—headed down to the Toyohira Riverbed for a long-awaited LSK8 session. It had been a while since I last rode, and today marked the first outing with my new MAGNETO bamboo pintail.
I’d been itching to try it out sooner, but the weekend weather just wouldn’t cooperate. Back in the day, I used to ride even when the pavement was wet, but honestly, it’s not worth it—spray kicks up, traction gets sketchy, and the post-ride maintenance is a hassle. Dry roads only, from now on.
So, how did the MAGNETO ride? In a word—fun. It doesn’t have much flex, but when I widened my stance and rode with just the toes of my back foot, letting the heel float a bit, it came alive.
Here’s a quick rundown of the boards I’ve ridden so far:
The MAGNETO has the widest track and tires I’ve ever ridden. The wheels are softer too, which gives it a grippy, almost suction-like feel on the pavement. On my first run, I kept my stance narrow and forward like usual, but it felt unstable. On the second run, I switched to a wider stance—and that did the trick. Much more stable.
It seems this board demands a different approach.
Then I tried a light unweighting technique, keeping my upper body still while swinging my lower body side to side in a bipod-style turn. That was a blast. At just 1060mm, it’s the shortest board I’ve ridden, and the tight handling gives it a completely different feel.
Getting back into LSK8 at this age has been a joy. Every ride reminds me how much fun it is, and each new board opens up a fresh perspective.
