I genuinely apologize for asking so many questions, but I was definitely under the impression Chapman were using clutch blanks as their wood. I only ask because I was chatting with a Christian skateboard brand and they assured me their decks were Chapman as of 2022. When I mentioned I had heard Chapman were using Clutch wood, they told me that “to their knowledge” that that wasn’t the case. Are Chapman lying to customers or is this board brand claiming something that’s not true?
Ask away!
No matter how many questions or what you ask, at least someone should be able to give a good answer.
As to the who is using what wood, the simple fact that Chapman sold their presses so now they are really only a heat transfer distributor, so they buy in decks from elsewhere and don't actually make any of their own at all.
That is really all that I know to be fact from that situation.
The best thing to do is check the top of any boards that come from them, and see if there are any marks on the deck itself, even though someone had said they had seen Clutch boards with out the letter / number stamp, that is the easist way to see if they are from Clutch. Same as the green stained board a few posts above, or the Clutch pics on the first page.
Regardless of what woodshop they may or may not be using, if they skate well, then you are good to go. If you don't like the way the boards skate, that is more reason to find out a bit more about where the boards come from, so you can avoid it in the future, but being able to see what is on the top of the board is the best start.
What I am seeing more often is "unknown wood" often with the single nail top, or a generic size laser stamp on a lot of boards between the bolts, which is almost always something from China, but it also seems they hold up well enough, so it is not a cause for concern as some people once used to think.
The only other thing I can think is if a deck has a "Made in..." sticker, but most of the smaller brands now do not if they are blanks that are just going to be used with heat transfer graphics and shrink wrapped for whatever brand the distributor or company wants to put on them.
Eg "Made in Australia" stickers from one company are just heat transfers done in house here in AU on boards pressed in China, along with some other well known bigger ones with clearly displayed "Made in USA" when the boards are pressed in Mexico and another in China, then heat transferred in USA.