# Other Crafts



## Fisher Kat (Apr 20, 2013)

Knife I knapped from red jasper and set into an antler handle










Stone knife I knapped from a multi-colored jasper and set into an antler handle. Pommel is set with river smoothed quartzite pebbles and the tassel beads I made from a reddish soapstone -


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## Paul2281 (Apr 10, 2013)

Wow man...Excellent workmanship...You made the arrow heads??? WTG, looks good...


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## Fisher Kat (Apr 20, 2013)

Paul2281 said:


> Wow man...Excellent workmanship...You made the arrow heads??? WTG, looks good...


Greetings and thanks, Paul2281. Yes I've knapped some arrowheads, but my knapping skills are not all that good as I screw up more works than finishing them. I have however made steel arrowheads as well as my own arrows.


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## Paul2281 (Apr 10, 2013)

Well thats why there`s millions of points in the ground down here in Central fl. because they screwed up more than they used...lol...

Good skill you got there...


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## Fisher Kat (Apr 20, 2013)

A 15" plains style pipe made from a piece of West Virginia pipestone I traded for. I attached worked antler rims on the pipe. Stem was fashioned from the lower limb end of an ancient white oak that developers fell in my old neighborhood. Mouthpiece is of hawk bone and feather is from the same. Both legal for me to have because of my recognized status. I also work in steatite.

Pipe bag I made of doeskin.


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## CAS14 (Dec 28, 2012)

Outstanding work! There is a group here in the Tulsa area that does knapping. Interesting.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

would some one explian what knapping means? and a red jasper total at a loss?


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## CAS14 (Dec 28, 2012)

To strike a rock with a tool, either another rock, a hammer, etc.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

thanks for that
would be used in flint making and such like eh? basically shapping stone?


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## CAS14 (Dec 28, 2012)

cobalt said:


> thanks for that
> would be used in flint making and such like eh? basically shapping stone?


Yes. Lots of clubs around the country that make points, and try to duplicate Native American crafts.

Jasper is a common name for a form of microcrystalline quartz. Such fine-textured, hard materials break with a conchoidal fracture, and are the point-maker's choice. I don't do that, but I am a geologist and still remember a little mineralogy and petrography from 40 years ago.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

what are the arrows made of?

a close up photo would help to see how the feathers where attached?


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

just trying to get things finished but have a wonderful abilty to cause chaos















and the result of being busy tools everywhere


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

just looked a stump and branch of a flowering cherry tree ,mat be able to carve a dragons head out of it not sure it 100% sound but think i can get enought wood out of it?

The other stump is a piece of Lilac had it about 8years hoping to carve a garoyle type face on the trunk and faces on the branches coming of it. I will just remove any loose material there is but leave it in as much the same state as it is ,

I will just treat it both pieces with some wood preserve and mount it on a mahgony stand if its any good

cherry stump Lilac


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## CV3 (Jan 30, 2014)

One of the things that is fun living near Mobile bay is that the rivers that feed into it bring a lot of nice drift wood. I enjoy searching the banks for projects. These are a couple of pick ups. both have tung oil finishes.

the dark carving


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

Dont seem able to open the thumb nail attachments?

cant see why?


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## CV3 (Jan 30, 2014)

I will try again. I do not know what happen.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

worked ok

nicely exicuted do you know what wood it is


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## CV3 (Jan 30, 2014)

I have not been able to determine the wood on the dark carving. The other one is elm.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

CV3 -- you are a great carver! Do you have a store?


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## Paul2281 (Apr 10, 2013)

cobalt said:


> Dont seem able to open the thumb nail attachments?
> 
> cant see why?


Same here,wanted a closer look....


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

A piece of work in progress a old piece full of cracks and rot but once carved and treated it may look good. it already looks like its very old which is part of the idea.Hadnt planned it just went with the flow of the grain but once treated with preserative and polished with wax think it will look good otherwise as someone already mentioned designer firewood


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## JJireh (Feb 7, 2013)

Great start Dennis! I love old weathered wood like that.


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## Paul2281 (Apr 10, 2013)

cobalt said:


> A piece of work in progress a old piece full of cracks and rot but once carved and treated it may look good. it already looks like its very old which is part of the idea.Hadnt planned it just went with the flow of the grain but once treated with preserative and polished with wax think it will look good otherwise as someone already mentioned designer firewood
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, very cool...Gives it some character...Great start...


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

I was thinking of doing some gargyles on some living trees , if i can find a out of the way place to do it .Its like a itch i have to scratch.

hence the reson for some long reach handles for chisels, i shouldnt say this i do know better ,permission or not i will do it in the right place .I KNOW ANOTHER STREET ARTIST messing up the place


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## CV3 (Jan 30, 2014)

Rad said:


> CV3 -- you are a great carver! Do you have a store?


No Rad. Just a small shop in the back yard.


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## CV3 (Jan 30, 2014)

I started with walking sticks/hiking sticks and they are still my favorite thing to make. How ever to support my tool addiction I had to find some thing I could sell in my area. Sticks just will not sell for the work that goes in to them. But spiritual carvings and fish will sell. I did some fish in the round but that was a lot of work for little money too. Then a friend who is a artist in Arizona. Told me there is always more wall space than table space. so I started doing wall hangings of fish. That has worked out. They are fun to do and do not take a great deal of time.


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## MJC4 (Mar 6, 2014)

Cobalt just finished another piece of designer firewood! Spent all day yesterday carving a wood spirit for my grandson's new townhouse fireplace mantle and as I continued "tweaking" the nose I broke it off! ARGH! I knew I should have used something other than soft maple. All part of the learning curve. I'll head out back to the woods tomorrow and look for a chunk of cherry or hickory and start over. Practice, Practice, Prcatice


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

You dont have to use it as firewood just cut out the nose to get a flat surface use a offcut of wood shape it and dowel it back on

This is how i make some of my puppets for punch and judy .i make the nose and chin seperate for punch and judy the others i just carve.Its made from 3 blocks of wood cut out on the band saw its easyer .the mesurements are in mm


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## MJC4 (Mar 6, 2014)

Tx, Cobalt for the suggestion the piece is too small to try and repair.

The contractor putting in the housing development down the road has pushed down a bunch of trees with his end loader and left quite a pile of timber that has been drying since last spring. Now that some of the snow has melted was able to get back in there and harvest a nice piece of black cherry today. If the weather wood ever moderate a bit I'd love to sift through the entire pile and see what treasures are there for the taking!


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

little bit more done on the lilac stump

Got some more of a yew tree supposed to be about 800 years old someone had tried to burn the centre out ? but the bark is amazing so will incorporate it into a hopefully a griffin.Its a big lump theres two peices

Sorry about the poor quality photos









yew bark the wood grain


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## Paul2281 (Apr 10, 2013)

cobalt said:


> little bit more done on the lilac stump
> 
> Got some more of a yew tree supposed to be about 800 years old someone had tried to burn the centre out ? but the bark is amazing so will incorporate it into a hopefully a griffin.Its a big lump theres two peices
> 
> ...


Wow, thats amazing brother,wtg.....


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

any of you stickmakers make a fishermans priest?

mainly made by wood turners i know but lots are hand carved?


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

cobalt said:


> any of you stickmakers make a fishermans priest?
> mainly made by wood turners i know but lots are hand carved?


Are you talking about a club -- we call them Musky Club or stick.


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## MJC4 (Mar 6, 2014)

A bonker, a blackjack, a billy club?

An oiled and waxed piece of oak from a walking stick cut off.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

A fishermans priest is a small club carried by gamekeepers/ poachers or fishermen to dispatch game of fish, usually made from ligna vita wood .modern ones have a metal end on them usually brass

Looked up musky club cane find any info on it . but assume its the same thing

musky must be a fish looks like we call a pike ? but you have different varietys there

Never heard of a blackjack or billy club it looks to long and dosnt have any metal on it so its not a fishermans priest


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## gdenby (Apr 27, 2013)

cobalt said:


> little bit more done on the lilac stump
> 
> Got some more of a yew tree supposed to be about 800 years old someone had tried to burn the centre out ? but the bark is amazing so will incorporate it into a hopefully a griffin.Its a big lump theres two peices
> 
> ...


The chunk on yew looks spectacular. I'm guessing its not long enough to cut out a shank, but maybe there's enough for a dozen or more good handles. They few pieces I've worked with were some of the most amazing wood I've encountered. Very nice color, and the grain is so dense it rivals tropical hardwoods. I've tried polishing some w. a 1200 grit ceramic hone, and it comes up to a gloss surface without any finish.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

Thers more than enough material on the yew 1 piece is about 2ftx 2ft the other slightly smaller ,One thing you may be able to help me with ,how does it carve ? i have no idea,never used it before .Also understand its very toxic to the skin eyes ,lungs and heart, so a wee bit careful.But nothing planned yet .

Another question for you I am planning to engrave a hazel shank it will mean egraving it deep and was wondering if this would effect the bark thats left ,by mayby shrinkage will it cause it to fall off once engraved or would i need a stabalizer for the wood simular to that wood turners use?

The hazel shank i have engraved i treated it with a thin coat of woood glue before undercoating it then applied gold leaf , with this i was thinking of leaving it with just the wood showing have you tried this?

any feedback would be good

I am interested in the finish you did and you say you didnt use any finish ,sounds promising? Did it have any effect on you because of the toxins?

I am amazed at the bark of the yew never seen anything like it the top layer has come of in places and underneath it the wood has a a small cone type layer covering it all over, i was hoping to incorporate it into the design somehow?

And finally the tree art in the fun photos looks like the effect of the morning after , you didnt load it with pendeltons ?


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## JJireh (Feb 7, 2013)

Engraving shouldn't affect bark that has already cured, all the shrinking should be done. I haven't done hazel, but some barks do get flaky so you may have to watch that.


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## CAS14 (Dec 28, 2012)

cobalt said:


> Thers more than enough material on the yew 1 piece is about 2ftx 2ft the other slightly smaller ,One thing you may be able to help me with ,how does it carve ? i have no idea,never used it before .Also understand its very toxic to the skin eyes ,lungs and heart, so a wee bit careful.But nothing planned yet .
> 
> Another question for you I am planning to engrave a hazel shank it will mean egraving it deep and was wondering if this would effect the bark thats left ,by mayby shrinkage will it cause it to fall off once engraved or would i need a stabalizer for the wood simular to that wood turners use?
> 
> ...


Did someone say "Pendletons?" Where?

Just had a nightcap, after a health scare that turned out to be nothing serious. Torn retina required 355 spot welds a week ago and it flared up. Steroid eyedrops took care of it today. I can still see where to find the Pendletons! Positive vision prognosis. Unless I have more than my allotment.


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## gdenby (Apr 27, 2013)

Because I am using almost all hand tools, I have been less concerned about about the toxicity of the yew. The dust I make doesn't become airborne, so little chance of inhaling. I have noticed some dust on my hands and arms, so I wash after working w. it. I've looked over sites where boyers are making yew self bows, and it doesn't appear that they use mask while working.

I haven't carved much detail yet. I've been working some of the smaller branches I cut last year, and haven't gotten into the thicker pieces, which are still curing. The sap wood is somewhat fibrous, but the heart wood is very dense. To give you an idea of the density, the branches are around 1"/3mm thick, and have 20+ growth rings. With my highest magnification lenses, I can see no sign of pores in the wood. Just messing around cutting curves into the wood, I've gotten sections down to having small dips, maybe 1/4" deep. Was fairly slow going. My knives would only take out small chips. Diamond coated needle rasps work pretty well, so I suppose a rotary tool would be effective.

In terms of finish, I can get a surface as smooth and lustrous as what might be produced by a satin finish varnish only be sanding to around 800 grit. The wood at that stage has a slightly waxy feel, for want of a better word. That gives me pause, as I wonder if there is a toxic oil in the finish that would rub into hands. I've noticed that self bows seem to always have leather wrapping at the grip, but I suppose that is mostly to provide a better grasp and a place to knock the arrow.

The traditional finishes seem to be coats of linseed, and a coat of bees wax. Despite its density, and "waxiness," evidently an unfinished bow would still absorb water. I'll experiment w. various oils and waxes.


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## CAS14 (Dec 28, 2012)

I may have posted this elsewhere, but CRS strikes again. When I have coated some sticks with tung oil, I have noticed that the heartwood sorbs far less tung oil than does the sapwood. At some point, after a week or two of occasional applications, any wood becomes saturated, and with tung oil, a waxy film develops. This doesn't look or feel good, and I remove it with steel wool. At this point, there is no doubt in my mind that the wood will soak up very little water.


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## Paul2281 (Apr 10, 2013)

CAS said:


> Thers more than enough material on the yew 1 piece is about 2ftx 2ft the other slightly smaller ,One thing you may be able to help me with ,how does it carve ? i have no idea,never used it before .Also understand its very toxic to the skin eyes ,lungs and heart, so a wee bit careful.But nothing planned yet .
> 
> Another question for you I am planning to engrave a hazel shank it will mean egraving it deep and was wondering if this would effect the bark thats left ,by mayby shrinkage will it cause it to fall off once engraved or would i need a stabalizer for the wood simular to that wood turners use?
> 
> ...


Spot welds,lol....Glad all is good....


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## Paul2281 (Apr 10, 2013)

CAS said:


> I may have posted this elsewhere, but CRS strikes again. When I have coated some sticks with tung oil, I have noticed that the heartwood sorbs far less tung oil than does the sapwood. At some point, after a week or two of occasional applications, any wood becomes saturated, and with tung oil, a waxy film develops. This doesn't look or feel good, and I remove it with steel wool. At this point, there is no doubt in my mind that the wood will soak up very little water.


Great info,thanks...I have yet to try treating/coating my sticks with oils.....


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## CV3 (Jan 30, 2014)

CAS the heart wood is denser, as a rule, and absorbs less of the oil. I put on one heavy coat then I wipe off the excess tung oil after about 10 or 15 minuets on the first coat. I let it dry 24 hors or more depending on humidity. Then build the finish with rubbed on thin coats letting each dry good. eliminates the build up of the film. Slow build up of the oil gives that deep luster.


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## CAS14 (Dec 28, 2012)

Thanks CV3! I've been coating sticks every day for two or three days and then increasing the intervals to several days and then the final one in a week. My preference for oils relates to my innate distaste for work. (Then why am I so addled that I want to take up carving.) Anyway, I like the ease of touching up the inevitable scuffs on an oiled stick. Wish I could carve 1/10 as well as you.


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## gdenby (Apr 27, 2013)

gdenby said:


> Because I am using almost all hand tools, I have been less concerned about about the toxicity of the yew. The dust I make doesn't become airborne, so little chance of inhaling. I have noticed some dust on my hands and arms, so I wash after working w. it. I've looked over sites where boyers are making yew self bows, and it doesn't appear that they use mask while working.


And a follow up. While it appears there are dangerous toxin in yew wood, the most dangerous exposure is to the leaves. Seems to me, trimming a yew hedge is more dangerous than working w. the wood.

See:

http://www.kew.org/news/analysis-of-yew-wood.htm


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

useful feedbac as usual thanks

Now what i need and ohters would find useful is a critque on work completed ?

say what would improve it or whats wrong with it


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## Fordj (Jan 8, 2014)

Fisher Kat,

From the first page of this topic: I just got interested in Knapping, and will be attending a "Knap-In" in June. I live close to Knife River Flint mines, and find small pieces of it in river gravel all the time. I hope to be knapping flint very soon.

Those are beautiful Knives, and a very well made pipe. I liked that you used a hawk bone and feather on the pipe. Swainsons Hawks and Northern Harriers are the ones I see the most. Great Northern Owls are also abundant at night and during the gloaming of the morning.

Wonderful work you do, wish you would post more often.


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## Fordj (Jan 8, 2014)

Cobalt,

That chunk of Yew looks like it is entirely made of burl. Is the grain that twisted? What are you going to make with it?


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

Have no idea yet ,its just sat there looking at me ,hoping for inspiration.,but want to keep the outer bark on .


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