tsterling

Sorry I haven't been around much lately - been a little busy, but not at making sharp things. Here's a simple little utility knife and rawhide sheath. Just a fun one to make. I tried out a new way making a belt loop, and I think I like it - a bleed knot (in rawhide). 1080 steel with distal taper, desert ironwood scales, rawhide sheath, copper dangly. 3 1/2 inch blade, 8 inches overall.

Here's the link: http://followingtheironbrush.org/ Some excellent work and tutorials, all in metal...

I'm not positive, but I think it's a thing called "horn coral." You might Google that and see if I'm right...

Oreo cookie crows! What'll they think of next? Reminds me of the cows I saw once while driving through Scotland - black on the ends, white in the middle. Made me wonder about the proper way to eat them.... Nice shots, Jake. Thanks for showing!

Why didn't you make a big one, Alan? Seriously though, a very impressive piece, and beautiful patternweld.

Two forums where you will find metal carving information: http://www.thecarvingpath.net/ (see the metalworking section) and http://followingtheironbrush.org/ and a blog: http://followingtheironbrush.blogspot.com/ Good luck! It's a bad habit...

Excellent tutorial, Alan! Thanks so much - I was wondering how you made such nice looking inlays - now I know, and the little wheels are turning... Of course, now I need a hawk drift, so more toys to get! My wife is going to stop letting me play with you guys...

Nice piece of work, Alan! And, yes, I'd love to see the handle tutorial also...

Well, if it takes a gnat's attention span to come up with a sharp design like that Jake, then go, gnats go!

Thanks, Giuseppe. That piece of yew was a particularly good one. Most of the local yew has lots of little pin knots in it, a little harder to carve, although I like the way the grain curves around them.

Thanks for the kind words about the website. I usually get my yew from local downed trees, but I have obtained some in lumber form from here: Edensaw Hardwoods (Seattle and Port Townsend, WA USA) Their website claims they have it in stock...and they've been good folks to work with in the past.

Yew is toxic, it's what a breast cancer chemotherapy drug is made from, but that's mostly in the bark. Ancient peoples used it for several medical purposes, was important/magic to the Celts, and yew berries were used by native Americans as an abortifact. Yew's toxicity is what makes it such a long lasting wood - most bugs won't eat it. But any wood that doesn't rot quickly is also toxic to some degree. It's best not to use yew for eating and cooking utensils, but as a knife handle it shouldn't be a problem. Yew sawdust, like any sawdust, isn't good to breathe so use a dust mask. It won't make a good toothpick, either, but your knife handle won't ever rot...

I've done quite a bit of carving in yew, and some handles. It works beautifully, is fairly hard, and is quite pretty. It will darken significantly over time, so take that into account and don't depend on it's fresh-cut color. The heartwood is a nice orange color, and the sapwood (new growth outside part) is quite light and makes a nice contrast, so you might want to include some of it. Here are a couple examples, you can see some sapwood in the first picture:

Cool one, Alan. A Samuel Bell-style spontoon - who would have thought...

Thanks for the kind words, gents! The handle is carved from a really solid piece of a tine from a moose antler, and maybe there is a little symbolism for the skull and skeletal fish - something of a comment on the nature of life and death (no pun intended...), and the ultimate possibilities of these little things we create. Plus, what else would a skeletal heron eat, Alan? And I don't think you're any more full of it this morning than usual...

Here's a carved dagger I just finished, based (loosely) upon the antique stiletto dueling weapon. This one was a bit of a stretch for my metalworking skills, straight-sided diamond cross section blade, and a forged copper habaki-like thingy made from a single piece of 1 inch diameter copper rod that was hot and cold forged on the blade itself. Stick tang, peened over a copper hilt. More carved and forged copper in the little fish skeleton as well. All told was about five days of work. Lots of fun! Thanks for looking!

Feel free to post, Todd!

Thanks for the kind words, Todd! I was prowling your blog the other day and really liked what I saw there. I was especially taken with Gooey-style integrals you're making - way cool!

Here are my latest two primitives with rawhide sheaths. The first is a small elk antler handled patch knife, and the second is a nessmuk-style, also elk antler handle. Thanks for looking!

A dicey job to be sure. QUICKLY! Paint the ends with something that won't let water through. Thick paint, wax, tar, thick glue, etc. The ends are where the moisture will leave first and quickest. Think of wood as a bundle of soda straws - the water will go out the ends quite quickly. The end wood shrinks quickly, the interior doesn't shrink near as fast, and then the ends check (split) severely. Lay the wood somewhere relatively cool, and on smaller pieces of wood so air can reach all the sides. The hotter it is, the quicker the water leaves the wood, outside dries and shrinks, wet inside resists and more cracks. You need a little time for the water to leave gracefully, sort of equalling out slowly. The rule of thumb is it takes one full year to air dry one inch (2.54 cm) of thickness, so 6 inches will take six years. Good luck...

Here are a couple of links to tutorials on The Carving Path forum about metalwork, specifically using chisels to "carve" or "engrave" metal, by true masters of this type of work, Jim Kelso and Ford Hallam. Lots more if you check some of the other posts in the same forum. Chisels (Ford Hallam) Moth in mixed aloys (Jim Kelso)

As my old boss always told me, "Fear and superstition will beat skill and science every time - and - It's better to be lucky than good!" I've always wondered if it was something he said to everyone, or just me...

Try these two engraving forums: www.engravingforum.com The Engraver's Cafe Lots to learn!

Here's a link to a tool used to bend metal strips into bracelets, putting a curve into the metal in two directions: GRS Metal Former You'll also find gravers and information on how to use them there. You might try soldering a thin strip of silver on the inside of the bracelet where it will contact the skin - that should eliminate the green skin effect.

Wow! Nice job, guys. Looks like it's going to be a real chore to put a decent edge on it, though....