On the final stretch! Today I finished up the centipede legs and the bark, as well as finalizing the patina. I’ll look it over for a few days for anything I might have missed, but otherwise I think it’s done!
Above, I’ve been using a tiny scraper to round over the tops of the legs. The three legs on the right side of the image have been scraped round and also patinated. The two gold colored legs in the center of the image have been scraped, but not patinated, so you are seeing the raw shibuichi color. The legs to the left side are still flat topped. The scraper I used is a very small Carl Bleile style scraper. You can find out more about these and how to make one here: http://www.handengravingforum.com/showthread.php?p=26207
Here are the rest of the legs scraped round. I still need to work on the antennae. This handy little scraper makes pretty short work of this task, and is invaluable for the finesse I require to make these little bugs “come to life.”
And, above, they’ve had the patina applied.
And here is the centipede finished. I’ve also deepened a lot of the junctions where the little plates of pine bark come together, making them look a little better defined. Watch out here though – It’s VERY EASY to overdo the bark! For this kind of texture, LESS is usually MORE.
Above, here is the finished knife, both sides, shown on it’s display and storage box. This has been a long time coming together, and I’ve had to travel a pretty far distance gaining the skills and techniques to make all this come together.
Here’s a short list of most of those (and some of these are firsts for me!):
Created the design concept, researched and formulated the patterns.
Forged, filed and carved the dagger to shape.
Hardened and tempered the dagger.
Formulated the shibuichi, melted and cast the ingot, forged and rolled the handle scales.
Shaped, fitted and riveted and epoxied the scales to the dagger.
Drew drown the gold wire to the desired diameter.
Engraved and fabricated punches for the ant inlays.
Engraved and inlaid the 24karat ants.
Carved the weathered wood, bark and centipede.
Made the display and storage box.
Here are closeups of the two finished handle scales.
And, last but not least, all of the pieces of the ensemble all shown together. To see how to make display boxes like this, visit this link: http://sterlingsculptures.com/wp/?page_id=882
Thanks for Looking!