I talked with woodturner Kalia Kliban back in December about making some pegs for the violin. She had cleared some time in her schedule, done some research, made some jigs and tools and was now ready to turn the pegs. We visited her shop in late February to watch the turning process, and to interview Kalia about her work.
Kalia brought the pegs and endpins (she made me a number of spares) over to my shop last week and they have come out really well, they are as good as any handmade pegs that I’ve seen anywhere. The Manzanita turns out to be an ideal peg wood, both for hardness and looks. The design is traditional but distinctive with a slightly unusual triple beaded collar, and the execution is fabulous.
When Kalia delivered the pegs she showed me a manzanita hairpin that she had made some years ago. It was completely black, indistinguishable from ebony. I’m very curious to see what sort of color change our pegs will go through.