Working on the other side of the handle now. This will be carved bark and a partially hidden centipede.
Above, I engraved the outlines of the bark surface on the shibuichi scale. You can still see some of the laser printer transfer of my pattern on the centipede, whick I haven’t cut yet. That area I have to sink down into the metal so the centiped can hide beneath the bark.
Here I’ve begun cutting down the surface for the centipede using flat and round gravers.
And here’s a quick and dirty patina to see the progress and kill the shine.
Above, I’m using a “hisage,” a Japanese-style scraper to smooth the surface so I can replace the transferred pattern of the centipede. The “business end” of the scraper is on the right, and the cutting surface is “up.” I need it fairly smooth and flat so the transfer will work well.
For more information on “hisage” you can visit these links: http://followingtheironbrush.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1018
http://followingtheironbrush.org/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=1231&p=11482
http://followingtheironbrush.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1472&p=13943
And here is the smooth surface with a patina, ready to reapply the pattern transfer.
Above is the laser printer transfer reapplied. I used a white permanent marker to make a surface that I can draw on and also provide a nice contrast for the black pattern transfer.
Here, I’ve engraved the outlines of the centipede and begun carving the front end, just to get an idea of what it might look like. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, though. I need to carve the bark surface first, to avoid damage to the centipede during the carving process.