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Congratulations to Ben Knight of Lightwave Surf for winning Swaylocks Build of the Month for March, 2023
Interview with Ben Knight - April 23, 2023
Michael Paler
Hey Ben. So where are you located?
Ben Knight
East Coast, New Zealand. North island.
MP
I was in New Zealand...like, oh my God…you're going to date me! About 33 years ago! Wow. I backpacked around New Zealand.
BN
I'd love to go back to New Zealand 33 years ago!
MP
Ok. So tell me a bit about yourself, how you ended up down the shaper’s rabbit hole?
BN
Yeah, well, my dad glassed surfboards for a guy called Wayne Parks and Wayne's very well known in New Zealand and Australian surfing circles. They started making surfboards straight out of high school. And they're just surfing bums. They just wanted to go surfing all the time. Which I guess now I understand where I get it from.
They were making up to twelve boards a day between them. My old man was a very skilled glasser and so over the years he taught me a few things, just a few tricks just here and there. And the odd time I happened to pop into the glass shop and see him glass a board. I didn't see him do many, unfortunately, and he passed away about eight years ago. But, I vividly recall watching him glass a few boards and just watching him do cut laps and things like that and he could have done it with his eyes closed. He was that skilled and could walk away from a board without anything on his hands or anything.
So I started dabbling, shaping for myself and mucking around a bit.
MP
And then how long ago was that?
BN
I probably made my first board about maybe ten years ago.
MP
So then what?
BN
A year went by and I made another one. I'm an ex engineer, so that's what I was doing for a job. I didn't really have time to make boards or things like that. Then COVID came along and sort of basically closed the doors on aircraft and aviation. I was making fins at that stage, knocking around with that and having a bit of fun with that and selling a few of those. And then a friend comes to me and says, “oh, would you make me a board?” And I was like, “um, yeah, if you want.”
So I reluctantly made him a board. He told me the dimensions he wanted and what he wanted and colors and everything and all the bottom contours and stuff. He was happy and it went great. Then someone else came to me and says, “oh, hey, I saw your mates board. Can you make me one?” And I was like, “yeah, if you want.” Then the second guy came back to me and says, “can you make me another one.” And I thought, “okay.”
So each time I learnt something a little more and got a little better.
MP
Do you have any influences or anyone give you some help along the way?
BN
I did watch Wayne [Parks] shape a board. That was an experience. He shaped one board and in an hour and a half, including stopping and talking to me, he had this thing perfect.
He was as casual as you like. He'd put his planer down and then take his mask off and we'd have a bit of conversation and he says, “oh, uh, now I'm going to do this.” And he'd just pick up the planer. And I'm sort of trying to absorb all this information in minutes. If it could have been a video, I probably would have rewound 100 times and watched each thing again and again. It was sort of a bit like watching a movie with Wayne and I absorbed what I could.
I've got my own way of doing it now. I've got my own rhythm that works for me. I'm working at getting faster and faster. I've only made a handful of boards, really. One thing I do is I don't rush it and I take my time. I'm pretty fastidious about symmetry.
MP
So tell us about your build for Swaylocks Build of the Month
BN
I had a guy come to me and said, “I want a board for bigger days.” We've got a spot around here that we surf on the bigger days. It holds huge like, it'll hold beyond what most people will go out in. A lot of water moving around. Above double overhead, it really starts to become a bit of a beast, quite heavy and hollow and really solid.
He wanted something quick with lots of control. And he did stipulate, “I want channels.”
MP
Is that your first go at channels?
BN
At that amount of channels? Yeah, I've done boards with single channels, but not with six.
MP
And you glassed this board, right?
BN
Yeah. I took my time.
MP
So a couple more questions. Are you shaping mainly as a hobby?
BN
A bit of both. What I've done is I've found a job that I actually enjoy doing. I'd like to try and make a go of it. So I'm doing repairs, fins and making boards. I'd like to get away from the repairs and just experiment with fins and boards. Develop some designs a bit more for myself and to sell.
I've just made myself a Twin Fin with some help from my buddy Clint Runion of Runyon Surfboards in North Carolina. He makes a lot of twins and bought some fins off me a few years back. We had a few yarns. I hit him up about twins and fin placement and things like that.
I made the twin and I knew it would go okay. But this thing? I'm not trying to blow up my balloon or anything here, but it went so well that I thought I may not ride any other board. I was so happy with it.
For anyone out there hasn't tried one, get on a twin and see what you think. It might be you.
MP
Do you have any tips or tricks for anyone out there just getting into shaping?
BN
I think if you're shaping a blank, look at your curves. Look at all your curves and look at how they flow. Look for flat spots, look for unevenness. Look at things from an angle. Don't look at it straight on, look across the board. Look at the curves as they flow in two directions.
And one thing my old man always said, he said if you're shaping a board and you get stuck or you get sick of it or you're not into it, just walk away from it and come back to it later.
MP
Good advice for life, eh?
BN
Yeah, it totally is. Sometimes I'll be shaping something and I haven't really fully knotted out like the bottom contours, where I'm going to start the concave or whatever. And so I'll just leave it.
Whatever you want to do, whatever question you're coming up against, eventually it'll come to you. You might have to sleep on it or whatever, but it'll come to you. And I think by forcing it ahead of its time you can go down a track of making something that is not going to go so well. The whole thing's got to flow.
MP
Okay. Last question. So Swaylock's Build of the Month. You pulled off the win. How's that feel?
BN
Pretty mind blowing really? Really surprised. That single marbley looking single fin (MP note, see Flextail Displacement Hull by Rian Davidson). That should have got it. I reckon it was a beautiful board, that thing. It definitely fits under the category of surf craft.
MP
Well, you're going to get a T-shirt and in January of next year, we're going to vote and maybe you can pull off the $1,000 win.
BN
Awesome. That'd be hilarious. Thanks so much for the opportunity.
If you want to get in touch with Ben, he’s on instagram at lightwave_surf or you can email him lightwavesurfnz@gmail.com
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Thanks for reading and until next time, enjoy & keep building with stoke,
Mike 🤙
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