Post #238339 by GMAN on Sat, Jun 17, 2006 3:58 PM

Hey all,

Thanks for the kind words on my Marakihau. I haven't carved small since the early nineties, and it was kinda fun - although I didn't use my hook much and relied on my Foredom and rotary handpiece/burrs. I'll be back to the hook and nanna (reverse hook) blades soon and will be able to get back to the detail that I once lived for while carving birds. I just need to find a way to compensate for my bum left arm and hand. All in time.

BenzArt came by my shop today and brought me a present of a bag full of awesome pieces of exotic woods to work on. He brought zebra, walnut, lace, rose ebony, makore, eira, mahogany, chadua, curly maple, and ton of other stuff I can't name. I have enough chunks here to make an army of little guys. I'm looking forward to breaking out my old bird decoy carving knives and getting busy. Look for some crazy Gman pendants in the future. Ben also gave me a great lesson in sharpening my hook knife blades; that's always been a problem for me. Thanks Benz.

If you haven't spent any time with Ben, you all need to try. He is just the nicest person ever and he has a depth of carving knowledge like no one I have ever met. Each time we speak I become a better carver. All of us here at carving TC are really blessed to have him among our ranks. Thanks again Ben, and I'll see you again soon.

Also, here is a pic of the pendant showing the abalone eyes and the aged finish better. I chose two abalone pieces with mirror-image pupil swirls in them to try to match them up. I will likely use the hook knife to put some nice details on him now.

-Gman

"The saw is family"

[ Edited by: GMAN 2006-06-17 16:16 ]