J.Arthur Loose

I'm trying to pull more enameling into my work, and fun stones. This is Hvetr-rafn, or Winter Raven. A drinking horn. The finial will be cast in silver with opal eyes and more blue enamel. There will be a silver lip and some more details.

Oof.

So I'm embarking on a multi-media Saga replete with songs, illustrations, swords, jewelry, and more... all about bees & beekeeping. A tale told in the epic Anglo-Saxon tradition. Here is my plan for the Sword of Sigewif, a centerpiece of the story. The handle is a stand in, but you get the idea. The plan is to cast the comb, shape it and enamel it like cloisonne... we shall see. Wait until you see my ideas for the blade. You can follow the Saga as it develops on my Patreon if you like, for as little as $3 a month. patreon.com/jarthurloose But I will post a few pics here from time to time.

LOL. It drives me up a WALL that most people just use the internet on their phones now. Especially when trying to sell art. Such tiny screens!

I can't argue that point! LOL. Grew up LOVING the Hobbit cartoon. Still better than the dumb Hobbit movies. It would be fun to make a knife more like the cartoon, now that I found this:

Hmmm, yes, I had a customer in the Netherlands who wanted to buy one of my pieces and it was going to be a bit of trouble to get the CITES treaty for it, even though it's obviously ancient. You have to send it to the gov't for 3 months and $30 so they can say that it is not modern. So for you it would be difficult. Within the States, there are no restrictions on ancient oosic, but it is getting harder to find nice specimens. It's one of the reasons I'm tempted to keep that one.

I didn't think about it. I just ground it, and it all worked out. Not askin' questions. LOL.

LOL. I bought a bunch of silver while it was down. So the funny thing is that I actually forged that blade many, many, years ago. Before the movies and Sting.

Hey Brian- Yes, those are lost wax / investment castings on the sheath clips & serpent rings, I use Rio Grande's generic casting investment, good for silver, gold & bronzes, I guess it's the "FOV Caster's Blend," now. Also, yes, I love the steel. I'll be making more. I have a very big Pile of Shame™ to melt down.

Here's one I finished up pretty recently. It's hearth steel I made from a pile of old blades I was unhappy with for whatever reason. It's such a satisfying transformation. The handle is oosic, or 10,000 year old fossilized walrus dick bone. It's more difficult to find nice pieces of oosic these days, and I really like this one. I'm honestly torn on whether or not to sell it.

Glad to hear your perspective Dave. Mine is similar. The whole world wants to fix this. Developments will be coming fast. I've been attacked quite soundly for saying as much on other social media though, so that's about as much as I'm going to speak on the subject.

LOLZ. I had to pull an all-nighter to finish this guy in time for a gift presentation. That was like, maybe 3AM. Loopier than usual. I made this video that morning before driving off 3 hours to hand it off.

Lovely.

Thanks guys. You are all going to make fine morning coffee company.

I'm working on adding enameling to my repertoire. This is a drinking horn called Hvetr-rafn, or the Winter Raven. It should be fun.