Whenever I went to a luthier's workshop, I always got much more excited about seeing the guitars before they were grain filled and sprayed. You could feel the texture of the wood and have a direct association with the craft that had gone into making them.

To me, the finish was like putting them behind glass: they looked great and it covered up any detail flaws, but you couldn’t feel the instruments or interact with them in the same way anymore. It was as if they had been locked away.

So, I have never lacquered an instrument; I finish them without grain filling and with several coats of natural plant oils applied by hand.

It doesn’t look as flash and it probably doesn’t protect the instrument as well, but the texture of the wood, even to be able to see and feel some of the small details of where my tools have been, are all part of a hand made piece.

I also like the Japanese idea of Wabi Sabi: the idea that a piece of craft should not seek to be visibly perfect. It should reveal both the imperfections of the material and the hand of the maker, and one should be able to see through that, some of the creative process that went into it. You will see such details on my instruments.

It isn’t carelessness, it is being happy for people to understand this is a human made piece.