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[jim simpson]

Careful with that axe, Eugene!

[Eugene]

One of these days, I need to take a picture of myself holding an axe just so I have some kind of retort to offer upon hearing/reading this.

...And I'll still take the bowlback.

[Eugene]

Here's me with my favorite "axe": a 1908 one-of-a-kind Martin. I would appreciate it if wood-chopping implements kept their distance.

[jim simpson]

Eugene,
You definitely need an axe to go with your name! The mandolin pictured was in that condition when given to me. I had an intact model that I was fixing up to sell when a friend told me that his wife needed a lute for a play she was involved in. It seems there was a scene where the musician would be (pretend) playing in one scene then he would leave and reappear with the broken instrument. They ended up using both my broken and intact models for the play and I understand the scene went off really well with the props. I attached strings stapled to the broken neck and body to the broken pieces would all dangle together when gripped by the neck. I guess from a distance a mandolin can pass for a lute! Ah Shakespear.

[Eugene]

The image is rather amusing, and frankly, I can't imagine it happening to a more appropriate mandolin. Looks very much like some of the pieces labeled "Bauer" (having no discernable association to the actual person from whom the name was borrowed) that I've seen.