Manufacturing
We all know the saying:
"They don't make them like they used to."
Well... We still do!
Vater Drumsticks are still made the same as they've always been, resulting in a consistent and durable drumstick: Hands-on craftsmanship, higher moisture content in the raw material, lathe turned, tumble finished, hand rolled and family owned / operated.
UNMATCHED QUALITY GUARANTEE Vater guarantees their drumsticks to be straighter, more consistent and of higher quality than all other leading drumstick manufacturers. Vater's Nylon tips are guaranteed not to fall off, crack or break for the performance life span of the drumstick. 100% of Vater’s drumsticks are manufactured in the USA. All Vater Drumsticks are tone and weight matched by computer analysis.
The Facts
- - Vater has several wood suppliers. Our partners adhere to Vater’s strict specifications and quality terms, providing Vater with the very best Hickory and Maple for making drumsticks.
- - Hickory only grows in the United States and is the best wood in the world to produce striking tools. (Hammers, Ax Handles, and yes... drumsticks). Hickory absorbs a great amount of shock.
- - The best process for producing very white Hickory is to use low temperatures when Kiln drying so not to "pink" the wood. The Kilns start drying at 85 degrees and are slowly increased but never exceed 105 degrees.
- - The Kiln drying cycle time that produces the best results is 2 1/2 weeks.
- - Vater's Hickory is stress released which is done by slowly raising the temperature at the end of the drying cycle for 8 hours. This relieves the stress in the wood and produces straight sticks that stay straight.
- - Vater uses the 2 best Hickory species for it's drumsticks which are Shell Bark and Shag Bark Hickory
- - Vater uses a dowel moisture content specific to "striking" tools (10%-12%). Some of Vater's major competitors use a moisture content known for furniture manufacturing (6%-8%). Wood is cellulose fiber and water......The more water moisture you extract, the weaker the wood. The more water moisture present (as in Vater sticks), the stronger the wood.
- - Vater produces 85% of it drumsticks from Hickory and 15% from Sugar Maple.
- - Only the outer 3"-5" of the Hickory tree is used to make drumsticks. This is the live part of the tree which is call the Sap Wood.
- - It takes 16-22 years for a Hickory tree to grow before it is harvested for drumstick production.
- - Each time a Hickory tree is cut, another one is planted. New trees are also produced from the Hickory Nuts that naturally fall from the trees.
- - USA grown Sugar Maple along with Hickory is one of the strongest hardwoods in the world.
- - Sugar Maple is now used by many Baseball stars for their bats because of it's strength.
- Vater’s undivided focus is to give you the highest quality drum sticks, specialty sticks and drum accessories in the world.