HOME | DD
willofthewisp — Ax, view2
Published: 2005-03-21 06:48:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 3115; Favourites: 50; Downloads: 77
Redirect to original
Description
This picture shows one side of the head of the ax, with all the silver inlay.Related content
Comments: 45
I understand the process you've used to do the inlay,
but boy, a tutorial or a short film on You Tube would really convey the technique completely...
I've always gotten stuck trying to figure out how to widen the bottom of the chamfer so the inlay material(silver)has some where to go.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It dosen't take all that much dovetailing to hold well, provided that you have made wire the right size for the channels you have cut. The key thing is to use pure silver, not sterling. I just buy those bullion coins and cut them up. If you don't have a draw plate for making the wire, you can beat the silver out to the desired thickness, and cut it into small square bars. If you then anneal and twist them you can roll them between two smooth blocks of iron or even stone to create a round wire. I make the wires just small enough to drop into the channels, which are only half to two thirds as deep as they are wide. This ensures that enough silver extends above the surface of the work to drive the volume down into the bottom of the channel.
Check out the chapter on inlay in THE ART OF ENGRAVING. I don't have it handy, but if I recall correctly the author's name is Meeker, and the current edition has a picture of an engraved flintlock hammer on the cover. There are a bunch of in process pictures there. The book is focused on engraving for gunsmiths, but the techniques can be transferred to all sorts of artwork.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This is probably the most gorgeous axe what have ever seen in deviant art. That inlay pattern looks very fancy.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks. This one was the third attempt, and the one that really worked. The first simply didn't come out, and the second was beautiful to look at, but felt clumsy and awkward. This one moves as well as it looks.
Thanks again.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thanks. Looking at your gallery I see that you even appreciate what goes into such a project.
Cheers.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Sometimes I wish my oil paintings were easier to fix.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Yes, theres a lot that one must do just to gain the knowledge and skill necessary to begin to do this kind of art.
Thats not even mentioning the guts it takes, it's not like an oil painting that can be corrected so simply.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Wonderful work,much impressed.May i ask weather the design was dictated by form or function?And if latter,what type?Particularly interested in your thoughts on the size and height of eye as related to length and angle of the edge.Respectfully,Jake.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks,
This one is a weapon in the old Anglo-Danish stile, and it was my third attempt. The first one didn't look good, having all the wrong angles. The second was beautiful, but felt sluggish, and so I sold it. This one is swift and lively, and even at its length, never hinders my footing.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well,exellent-somehow find such authenticity very pleasing.Good on you for persevering-must be tough,but can only imagine the satisfaction.Beautifull things like your axe,weapons and tools alike,often put me in mind of how many gifted craftsmen's intuitive adjustments in design are contained in the shape.Not being able to heft it,can only say that it looks perfect.Thanks,Jake.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I find when I can create a form that really works right it simply will be beautiful.
while I sometimes will decorate things that do not have this sort of fundamental beauty for customers, because it is what they want, it lacks a sort of deep satisfaction. The other thing that I find is that letting the materials dictate some of the design results beautiful forms. I see this in folk crafts all over the world: The best designs are those where the maker has let the clay be clay, the wood be wood, the iron be iron. I have an adz that I made by strapping a steel blade to a haft I carved from the crook of an ash tree. It is not that the grain follows the design but the design follows the grain, and the geometry if perfect because it grew that way. When I am in doubt about the design of a thing I look to how the problem has been solved by different people in the past, and then try out a couple of samples to get the feel of the process.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
I took a break of eight or ten months in the middle of that piece, but when I was ready it just came together in a few weeks of manic immersion in the project.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Terrific,we definitely speak the same language.The only limiting factors are skill(for it is possibly the highest form of skill that allowes one to roll with the material),and stick-with-it-ness,the lack of which so tragically robs the craftsman and the client both of potential quality.I'm guilty of both,and repent constantly,and get my nose rubbed in it.Have tremendous respect for your level of craftsmanship,keep up the great work,Jake.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This is amazing. It's the first time I've seen people doing the real ax head inlays.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I only know of one other artist who once did some of this sort of thing, though he acid etched the steel instead of hand cutting. It is realy time consuming, but the result is worth it.
By the way I like the morells on the shelf fungus. When I was a child I drew on those all the time. I'd find one, draw some view of my surroundings, and leave it in the woods, picking some special spot, a rock or stump to set it on. 'Gathered loads of mushrooms too.
Cheers.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm sad to here more people don't do that sort of thing anymore. Thanks for the comment an the shelf fungus too.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yeah, people just don't seem to take the time any more. I will try to get to scanning some of the mushroom earrings I make and posting images.
Cheers.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Cool! I can't wait to see them.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Very nice in-lay work.Is the axe one you forged? It has a nice form to it,but the in-lay really sets this off.
I wish I had the talent to use on my knives.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yup, all my work. You could learn to do it too; it just takes a lot of time.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I don't have that steady of a hand any more,and that is a must to perfecting the art of in-lay.What are you using to cut your channels?I know the process from there,it is the initial channelling that I have a problem with.I will continue to watch your work.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm using hammer driven tools. I start with a lozenge tool, and cut a "V" shaped groove, just a bit wider than the final size. The next step is to bottom the groves with a narrow squared off tool shaped like a flat graver, but angled to cut steel. This leaves the grooves with a flat bottom and verticle sides. I then go over both sides with a small rondell chisel that I grind on one side only. This widens the bottom of the grooves and raises the edges slightly to create a dovetailed cross section. Once the whole work is done this way and the ends have all been undercut with the flat tool I start making the wire. I use .999 silver as it is soft and fairly stickey. I plan out the inlay so that the ends of any wires that terminate at intersections with other grooves are tucked under the crossing wires. I do not butt or splice, but use single wires for each element of the design. I hammer the wires into the grooves with a little hammer I made for the purpose, working at first with light blows, and then tapping it down more forcefully. This drives the silver out into the bottom of the grooves and then clenches the steel down onto it. Care must be taken not to undercut so deeply that bits of the wall of the channels break off, because this will result either voids, or in wide spots in an otherwise liniar design. Once the whole work is inlayed I sand it untill the whole surface is of an even texture. If you polish the surface the inlay will become lost in the shine. This whole process also works well for inlaying silver into bronze, however copper is too stickey to cut the channels into without frequiently breaking tools. None of this requires a steady hand, but it dose demand a great deal of time and paitience.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
beutifal (sp) work on the head. its truly amazing especially with the inlay
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thnks, The inlay is trickey, but a great effect when it works out right.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thanks. Hey I have been wondering: is Paua a kind of Abalone? What sort mollusk is it anyway?
Take care.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
hey I found this link with good pics of the paua shell, it is of the abalone family ..its used heaps here for inlay work and jewlery ..and u can eat the flesh inside them .. YUM paua patties ..the only thing bout working it is the dust is really bad 4 ur lungs ,so if u eva use it wear a decent face mask [link] 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hey thanks for the link. The North Pacific Abalone looks much the same, and tastey too! When I was a child my house, hhere I lived with my greatgrandmother had abalone shells cemented to the rockwork all around it, along with agats and carnelian and petrified wood. The house is still there though not all or the rockwork is. I miss eating abalone, fresh from the water, whacked hard with a big mallett, and fryed fast and hot, right on the beach. Here where I live now, in the inner sound, it's all about oysters and clams. The mascot at the local college is the Geoduck, pronounced "Gooey-Duck." It is an giant clam, with a long and very rude looking neck, They can weigh in at 10kg. and seem to mainly be used in soupes and to scare away people from outside the area.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
hahahahaha scary seafood ... wicked! yea shells r so amazing ( and often tasty treats !) i was casting small ones with a copper n silver alloy 4 a while and making them into rings .. everyone seems to relate to the simple beauty of shell forms
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
The crows here leave shells all over the bridge railing; I like to flick them off into the water when I go to the bakery. Even the plainest of clams have great colours on the inside. Say, why do the Ausees call abalone mutton fish? I like mutton and I like fish, but neither anywhere near as good.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
lol i havent heard that one b4 ...aussies can be more than a wee bit strange at times 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
They are crazy. I once went to a gem show with a woman from Darwin, and lived to tell the tale. She got me a free pass, and I drove around Tucson, with all of its reversible streets and back and forth english and metric signs. I did not try the vegimite.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
HAHAHAHAH the vegemite was prolly the safest thing bout aussies
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I was glad she wasn't driving.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0