Whats up yall? It’s your boy Paul NForm and I have another interview here for all of you today, My newest interview is with the owner of Southern Psychopaths, where you can find your very own CUSTOM…THAT’S RIGHT..FUCKING CUSTOM! HATCHETS AND CHARMS! This man has attended gatherings and various other shows, so I’m sure plenty of you ninja’s have heard of him. He goes by the name of Moon Shine, and all I can hope is that by now if you’re reading this, then you’re truly ready…TO BE NFORMED…
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEcDC8o5z3s#t=292[/youtube]
Paul NForm: So, Moon Shine…Obviously you run your own custom shop. How did the idea come to life back when you first decided that you were going to try selling custom hatchets for the Juggalos worldwide? Like, what made it just click in your brain this that is what you were going to do?
Moon Shine: The inspiration for making the first hatchet was from the music. ICP and Twiztid was all I ever listened to and the hatchet was a big part of who I was. I love razor sharp weapons and wanted a hatchet but I couldn’t find one I liked anywhere. So the idea hit me. I’ll just make my own. It took me many years but I finally did. Then the idea of making many hatchets came to mind. I decided that I was gonna try to make one for every Juggalo.
Paul NForm: That’s whats up. So, in 1999 the plan was born, but as with all other good things it took some time for things to develop. Eventually in 2005, you were able to draw up the first prototype of what you wanted to make. What was that like, and what design did you first choose to go with?
Moon Shine: The first one I made is still to this day not complete. When we first cut it I wanted it to have knuckles and be made of 1/4 inch stainless but after it was cut, I decided it was way heavy and the knuckle design wasn’t gonna work because of the comfort. Also it took to long to do the finishing around the knuckles. Like filing around each finger hole to get the sharp edges that the water jet leaves. It wasn’t gonna work for the price I originally wanted to sell them for.
Paul NForm: Yeah, it sounds like it would be something for the worlds strongest man competitions though if somebody could lift that up and really get a good swing with it. With that being said it still sounds like a pretty cool idea though. How much money did it cost to get things together so you could create your first hatchet?
Moon Shine: Well in my SPH bio that I’ve started writing, I stated that it cost me about $3000 to make the first hatchet but it’s more like $5000. The tools and material alone was $3000. Grinders, sanders, stainless etc….. That list goes on and on. What I didn’t mention was the countless trips back and forth to Houston, TX to check out each new design cutout. It took several trips and several months to tweak the design to the SR1 (series 1) that you see today.
Paul NForm: $3,000 is a lot of money to put into something that could hit or miss. Was there ever any doubt in your mind or worry that things could of gone wrong?
Moon Shine: Yes, the thought of losing all that money definitely crossed my mind but like the great Haystak says, I’m a hustler baby. How can I win if I don’t play? Sometimes you gotta lose. That’s just the business. Seriously though it didn’t take long before I realized that it was gonna take a long time to make back all that money. Almost 2 yrs to be exact.
Paul NForm: Now I’ve heard that you guys have a lifetime warranty which includes a warranty for the shine of the pendant as well as scratches that may occur. Obviously this type of warranty is basically unheard of. How did you come up with the idea to have such a promising lifetime warranty for your customers?
Moon Shine: I stand by charms so much that once someone ripped the head off one of my hatchet man charm #99’s with some pliers and I still offered to replace it. My slogan used to be, if you fell off a 20 story building and your charm broke your homie could send it back to me and I’d replace it. That still stands. When I say lifetime guarantee, I don’t just mean your lifetime. I mean your kids lifetime or my lifetime. Which ever happens first. I also guarantee the Shine because I don’t want my product out there looking like all the other scratched up charms that you see. I’ll re-shine any of my charms for free. Just send it back with $3 for me to resend it back to you. I thought of this because I want everyone to know how much pride I take in my product.
Paul NForm: That lifetime warranty is dope man, but how could somebody prove that they got the charm from you? For anybody that would be worried about that, do you offer receipts or how is that taken care of?
Moon Shine: On each and every charm and hatchet, I stamp my initials and a sort of serial number in sequence on the back. There are several ways to tell my Hatchet Man charms from any other HM charm out there or any charm for that matter. The HM for instance, the shape of my charm is different from any other, the edges of my charms are different because I’m the only one that cuts them with a water jet CNC machine. I chose this because lasers and plasma cutters make 316L jewelry grade stainless weak and brittle because of the heat. Charms cut with that much heat will snap and break. Cutting with cold water doesn’t change the molecules in the 316L stainless. It might bend but it will not snap and break. 316L jewelry grade stainless, the metal every charm maker uses cannot be treated by heat. My charms are thicker and heavier than anyone else’s. I’m the only one that uses 1/8 inch stainless. All other charm distributing companies use 2.5 mill. I chose not to use a standard bail on my charms like everyone else because you can’t guarantee a charm to last a lifetime if you’re customer lost it in a mosh pit because the weakest part of a charm is what holds it to the necklace. I use a 5/16 stainless steel lock washer that I also polish to a mirror finish. The number one way to tell if it’s made by me is that I’m the only one that spends the time to polish and finish each piece by hand. There are no charms out there that can even come close to comparing with mine. I put that on my hatchet.
Paul NForm: So, I read that the original hatchets were something like $150, how much would somebody have to pay to get their hands on one of these beasts now?
Moon Shine: Before I realized that each hatchet could take anywhere from 8 to 24 hrs to complete, I was gonna sell em for $99 plus shipping but that wasn’t possible. That’s when I just came up with $150 plus shipping. Today you can still get one for $150 plus shipping. The $150 hatchets are a single colored hatchet with a standard handle. The most I ever sold one for was sold for $350. It was my Sons of Anarchy hatchet. The price range starts at $150 and goes up from there. There are also pearl handle.
Paul NForm: What was it like when you were served papers stating that you would be facing a lawsuit if you didn’t stop selling the hatchetman charms?
Moon Shine: I hope I don’t get in any shit over this but I’m gonna be straight up about it. The first time I ever heard anything about bootlegging was from Strange Music’s street team. I always heard they were bad about suing bootleggers. So after almost a year of people asking me for the snake and bat charm and me saying no, I gave in and had my homie cut me 20 of em. I got 5 of em finished and polished and sold the same day I got em. That same day I got confronted and that same day I stopped selling em. I polished the remaining 15 and sold em for what the cost me to a store. I never made another one. The hatchet man charm I did a little different. I sold and gave away a lot of HM charms before PR sent me a cease and desist. When I received it, my first thought was fuck this. The HM belongs to us Juggalos that have repped this shit for years and years. I was thinking I got this tatted on me because it reps Juggalos not some big ass money hungry company. So I kept making em and I dropped my price to $18 and kept my same guarantee. There are a lot of Juggalos out there wearing my HM. There first HM charm and because of me the last HM charm they’ll ever buy. A few months later I started hearing from their lawyers. That’s when I stopped making the HM charm and when I realized that the HM didn’t mean what it used to. That also started something that will forever be known as us 2%er’s.
Paul NForm: Obviously in the world of making custom charms I’m sure you have made a few for some decent names out there, am I right? If so, who?
Moon Shine: I’ve done charms for AMB, Canonize Productions, Bones personal charm, Otis’s personal charm, Aj Jordan, True Juggalo Family, KungFu Vampire, Smokehouse Junkies, PGT, Bluntman’s One Stop Party Shop, Dented Mind Productions, Lordsof Chaos, Manic and right now I’m working on Big Smo’s charms. I was asked by ABK to come up with a Native World Inc. and make his personal Warrior charm. It was at an after party at my hotel room in Houston when he was touring with AMB but I haven’t heard back. I’ve also done charms for a few small businesses and several other small record labels. I have a video of me making one of AMB’s charms on YouTube.
Paul NForm: If I were looking in the market to have a custom charm made, tell me, why should I choose Southern Psychopaths?
Moon Shine: If you were in the market for a custom charm, the only reason you should come to me is because there is nothing better. Nobody can touch my charms. Nobody can touch my guarantee. When you come to me wanting a custom charm, you come to me wanting the last charm that you’ll ever have to buy. When it gets scratched, send it to me and you get a brand new charm again for free.
Paul NForm: Beyond the custom hatchets and charms are there any other side ventures that people could possibly look forward to from Southern Psychopaths or just yourself in general?
Moon Shine: Aside from hatchets and charms I make lots of things. I make custom pistol grips, wedding cake toppers, custom brass knuckles (paperweights), skateboard decks, my own clothing line, decals, boot knives. I even make adult toys for women. My absolute favorite side thing to do is restore old blades of all shapes and sizes and I customize guns to local people. I make custom stainless decals for vehicles. There’s not much I don’t or can’t do. I’m about to start customizing my motorcycle with custom fenders and gas tank. The only things I haven’t been able to do is rings and some charms that have to much detail. The greatest thing I ever made was the 5′ stainless Lotus cross. That took over a year and $700 to make. A cross I made to hang on the tree that my fallen brother Rocky Thompson hit on his way home from getting a riddle box tat. To this day I think he’s the reason for the success of SPH.
Paul NForm: So, how many of these hatchets have you made for your own collection?
Moon Shine: I don’t have a collection. I have my hatchet. The first hatchet and real soon I’ll be finishing it. My hatchets really aren’t for collecting. In the beginning I wanted every Juggalo to own one of my hatchets. Something that I believe every Juggalo needs. Finally something to hold up high and swing if we must. At first there was just my simple hatchet with a cutout of something that used to belong to and represent Juggalos worldwide not a company, the little man running with a Hatchet. Then we had limited ways to personalize your hatchet. You could choose any color blade including polished and you could choose from about 50 different handles including 12 different colored pearl handles. Then I did my first hatchet with no cutout and painted the riddle box on it. This opened up a lot of options then.
Paul NForm: So, the hatchet man charms you eventually sold for $18. If I came to you today for a custom charm how much could I expect to pay?
Moon Shine: Until recently, if you came to me wanting a custom charm there was a 10 charm minimum because the time it takes to draw each charm on the CNC computer. We’ve had a couple charm designs take an upwards of 6 hrs to redraw. Now and this is on an average, 1 charm is $60, 5 charms are a $100, 10 charms are $180 and 20 to a million charms are around $17 each. These prices can vary for several reasons. Also there is no guarantee that I can even do your custom charm. The only downfall to cutting with a CNC is that it can’t etch and if the design is to detailed and intricate, it’s impossible to keep the charm a decent size. I get people all the time that want their whole name or they show me something that I could only explain as a poster of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and tell me that’s their charm design. I can’t do big words or something that would appear as a hedgehog and an octopus getting it on as a charm. The labels, rappers, groups and businesses that come to me, want their customers to have the best. The labels, rappers, groups and businesses that go to anyone else, have either never heard of me, have been rejected by me, would rather go with the cheapest they can find or don’t really give a damn what they’re selling their customers as long as they can turn a profit of 200% or more. I know every other charm dealer out there in this class range of charms and mine are the only ones made right here in America. The others like to bullshit you into believing they’re the best but I’m the only one that can prove it. I’m a Juggalo that doesn’t want to get rich off of you. I’m a Juggalo that wants you to be 100% satisfied and will 100% guarantee that you will be.
Paul NForm: How much was the most expensive item that you sold and what was it?
Moon Shine: The most expensive item was the Sons of Anarchy hatchet. I probably put over 30 hrs into that hatchet. The handles alone took me 2 days to make. I made them with white pearl. The front side handle I took one of my AK-47 rounds, pulled the lead out. Poured out the gun powder out and replaced the lead. Then I took the dead round and started sanding it in half long ways on my belt sander. It never crossed my mind that the primer was still live. As soon as the cartridge got hot, it set the primer off and blew a hole in the sanding belt and burnt my hand pretty good. It really just scared the shit out me. Valuable lesson learned. I polished the round to a mirror finish. Then I used a Dremel tool to router out the shape of the AK round so it would fit inside the pearl grip and poured a clear epoxy over it so the round appeared to be inside the grip.
Paul NForm: I have to say I love the Sons Of Anarchy hatchet, that’s my show right there man. Anyways, Are there any shout out’s that you would like to put out there?
Moon Shine: The most important shout out would have to go to ICP. Even though I can’t make their merch, they’re the inspiration for everything I’ve done and SPH wouldn’t be shit without them. I’ve always wanted to tell them thank you personally. Maybe they’ll see this and respect everything I’ve said as a Juggalo. Much love homie’s. 2%er’s wouldn’t be here without what y’all started. I’d like to give shouts out to my girlfriend that puts up with me putting in 14 to 20 hrs days doing this. (Tiffany) A shout out to my 3 girls that work hard for me taking the orders and helping with all the Facebook pages and Twitter and so many other things that would be impossible for me to do myself. SPH wouldn’t be much without them. (Jayy, Christine and Betsy) I’d like to thank Dustin Lane of TJF for the support and helping me get Moon Shine and SPH out to the Juggalo world. He’s an awesome and cherished friend. A shout out to AJ Jordan for designing and building the past and present website. http://www.southernpsychopathshatchets.com/ When Psychopathic Records shut me down from making the hatchet man and hatchet girl charms, we took the old site down that had over 700,000 hits and built the new one. It still needs a lot of work but AJ’s a busy man being a underground superstar himself. A shout out to Bones from AMB and Canonize Productions for believing in my work and realizing that the fans would rather have charms made by a Juggalo for Juggalos. A shout out to BigCharm from Canonize Production, (AMB’s Merch Man) for getting me in touch with AMB. He’s a good friend of mine and a cool ass dude. A shout out to Kung Fu Vampire for giving me the first opportunity to make his new official charms. Even though I probably won’t be. Still means a lot that he came to me first. A shout out to Marz from Dark Lotus for buying one of my Lotus crosses. We’ve never spoke but it meant a lot. A shout out to Marshall Fleming of AOG for believing in me.A shout to Smokehouse Junkies. This may sound dumb but I’d like to give a shout to Strange Music for shutting me down making their charm. That’s when I realized some big names were seeing my work. A shout out to Billy Palte for being my first sponsor and vinyl decal maker. Homie does awesome work. The biggest and most important shout out goes to my supporters and fans for keeping it all going. If it wasn’t for them and their help spreading my work around the world, well I’d still be holding the first hatchet and there’d be no charms. I can’t possibly name them all but here are a few. Madison Barkley, Shawn Tillison, Amber Lowery, Randy Adkins, James Ellis, Chris Malone, Kevin (Bluntman) Jones, Cody S. Blackford, Chelsey Osborne, Adam ShakestheKlown Johnson, Will Irizarry, Jared Sauter, Trish Hall, Steve Pilsbury, Mike Campbell, Wes Chase, Bigdaddylo Baez, Chris Carnage, Damien Carnage, Angela Vault, Samantha Shelton, Robert ThePirate McComb, Scooter Winger, Ken A New, Chad Wright, James Clark Jr, Tim Pelles, Mikey Fist (Batman), Justin Kauffman, Steve Burgess, Tipsy Klown, Kiki Rose, Lou Ann Welty, Shay Patterson, Suzie Grogan, Lisa Bennett, Theresa Sheff, Tim UndergroundMusic Wilson, Angel Rivera, Matt McCain, Jessica Hooter, Tiffeny Jinxy Forrester, Shaman Alexander, Charles K Tuel II. There are hundreds more. I love them all. Last shout out would definitely be to all you haters. The shitty low life trashy folks sitting behind their mommas computer wishing they could bring me down. Thank y’all to. If it wasn’t for y’all, I wouldn’t have so much fun looking down when I climb and aiming when I piss. Lmao
Alright folks That about wraps it up, That was Moon Shine from Southern Psychopaths and from just seeing some of his work let me tell you if you want something custom made just for you make sure to get a hold of this ninja. Don’t believe me? Check out the pics below. Until next time, this was Paul NForm on behalf of The Underground Spotlight and Faygoluvers.net family. I hope y’all enjoyed the read. If your looking for an interview you can reach me at [email protected] , Until next time…This was the interview with Moon Shine from Southern Psychopaths Custom Hatchets And Charms, and ya’ll have just been….NFORMED!
Lotus Cross Made For A Homie Who Passed. RIP
Riddle Box Hatchet.
I WANT ONE OF THESE, FRESHNESS
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