Monthly Archives: January 2012

Cherry Blossom and Dragonfly Tsuba Pendant part 5

More cherry flowers, at 4 o’clock. Above, with a quick patina. And here, starting to round out the dragonfly parts, just rough carved so far with carbide burrs. OK, above is the dragonfly body carved.  Now to work on the … Continue reading

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Cherry Blossom and Dragonfly Tsuba Pendant part 4

Above, I’ve used a punch to smooth the flower and adjust the texture of the big branch at left. Here above, I’ve been working more on the flowers and branches, carving out the cavities in the flowers with a tiny … Continue reading

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Cherry Blossom and Dragonfly Tsuba Pendant part 3

Above, removing more out of the center area, and texturing it as I cut it away. Here, starting to round the branches (at 9 o’clock on the pendant), and relieving the rear wings of the dragonfly. Continuing on with the … Continue reading

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Cherry Blossom and Dragonfly Tsuba Pendant part 2

Here’s the pendant with most of the areas sawed out with a jeweler’s saw and tiny, tiny blade. After a lot of filing to begin smoothing the saw cuts (thanks to my lousy sawing skills), I began cutting away the … Continue reading

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Cherry Blossom and Dragonfly Tsuba Pendant part 1

Here’s my next project attempt! It’s a tsuba (Japanese sword guard) pendant with cherry branches, cherry blossoms and a dragonfly. The first image is a Photoshopped version of two antique tsuba, and the second image is my pattern I drew … Continue reading

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Engraved Spyderco Cricket “Surprise” Knife

I started a new engraved knife – Mary Alice won’t let the wicked rest… This one is a Spyderco Cricket knife with a skulls and ribbons design.  These little Spyderco stainless steel knives are a dream to engrave, and are … Continue reading

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Burl Noggin part 5

And, finally, the noggin and button are finished.  Here it is as the entire ensemble. Thanks for looking!

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Burl Noggin part 4

I’ve been working this morning to remove the background of the engraved copper disk. I used my NSK micromotor grinder and several sizes of very small carbide burrs to carve away the background, leaving a pleasing texture behind. I fastened … Continue reading

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Burl Noggin part 3

When last we saw our hero, he was getting ready to begin engraving. Above, I’ve stuck the copper disk on a small block of walnut with pitch (Northwest Pitchworks, in Bellingham WA).  Here, it is clamped in my engraver’s vise. … Continue reading

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Burl Noggin part 2

Well, since I made the fancy Gentleman’s Noggin, I now need a high-end chunky button to go along with it.  These chunky buttons were designed to allow someone to hang the noggin from their belt, but still be handy to … Continue reading

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