Tony sent me a box of walnut cut by his family in Missouri a long time ago. I was taken by the texture of the original sawmill marks and I chose to leave them on the rim cap. We are so used to sleek modern designs (the iPhone, the Prius, chrome and glass furniture, injection molded plastic kitchen implements, etc) that a rough or variable texture can be a bit of a surprise! Also, this old black walnut is some of the cleanest and straightest I’ve ever used. It looks beautiful and rings like a bell! The pistachio is from California orchards. The video below pairs this banjo with the next one as a sound sample.