Maybe a dumb question but besides tip style and decorative design, what makes one striker maker better than another if it's the same wood used on a striker?
Obviously customer service, availability and price all factor in but let's ignore that for this conversation.
The reason I ask is because I would like to get several different strikers in different wood types to see what my preferred type is.
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That is a tuff 1.
Things that could change the sound- the weight of the striker would make a difference and that particular piece of wood. Even though a striker is made of the same wood- each piece of wood could have different sounds.
It also comes down to what sound you like and are looking for. For me certain striker wood sounds better on certain pot call surfaces.
I made a list of my strikers and how they sound on different surfaces, only a few sounded good on most of them.
Some guys prefer harder denser woods and other like softer woods.
I have a cherry and maple ( softer woods) striker that sound good on most calls - they just need to have the tips sanded more to keep making good sound.
Some guys like 2 piece strikers while others prefer a solid wood- lots of makers will pair a striker with the call they sell.
You just have to try out different woods and different makers- hopefully you have some buddies that hunt, and you could try out a few of theres and see what you like- instead of having to purchase a bunch to try out.
I have over a dozen Harold Fowler strikers , so I would suggest any of those you could get.
I had a Fowler Granadillo wood striker and a Stuckey made with the same wood, to me the Stuckey sounded better. So, even though I love the Harold Fowler strikers, I just found that particular Wood sounded better by a different maker.
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I think shape/design, density, the way it fits in your hand which is a major one for me and weighed vs unweighted and how and where it would be weighted would all make a difference. Bornagain64 brings up Harold Fowler strikers, I have two of them Ipe and Cocobolo and both sound great but I can't use them because they make my hands hurt so badly because of previous injuries. My problem, nothing the maker did wrong by the way. I am found of Stuckey and Halloran Strikers though the Stuckey are far more comfortable to use but the Halloran sound better to me. I also prefer a one piece striker, why I have no clue. JHL Jeff here makes very fine strikers and will go out of his way to try to help you if there are any problems which are few and far between.
To sum it up short. You can take a maker and he can turn 10 strikers out of the same piece of wood and they all will have a slightly different sound. Comparing each of the strikers , some will sound identical but it will be hard to pick up the subtle difference but it will be there, while the rest will sound noticeably different. Most of it has to do with the grain in the wood. I have 5 strikers that are made from the same wood with pretty much the same design , weight and tip. They all sound good and very similar. You can put them on different pots and some sound better than the others. Switch pots and the results vary. All sound good but you can notice the difference between them. All slightly different.
For me personally it is about weight and balance and shape of the tip of the call. All of this makes a difference to how it fits properly in my hand to allow me to run a striker correctly.
The strikers i use are all decided by the tips / weight / wood / pot call surface and makers ...
I am most certainly not the pot call and striker afficionado most of you fellers are. My theory about pots and strikers is simply to run every pot I own with every striker I own and match them up based on which sounds the best to me. Some of those combinations end up being cheap pots with "fancy" strikers...and some of them end up being "fancy" pots with cheap strikers. Bottom line for me...it is all about the sound found in those combinations,...regardless of the materials involved or the makers of the products.