Post #62057 by Basement Kahuna on Tue, Nov 25, 2003 1:49 PM

Two of my standards; the large, sharp-serrated Akatara (Cook Islands)I just finished and is for me own self (it's a difficult carve)...The Sali, or Strike Of The Snake (Fiji) is an example I did a while back and never photographed. I like this Akatara...The eye of Tongaroa (on the ricasso)is open on one side and closed on the other. Has a lot of palm tool work, too, I've had some shaky hands lately but they lent nicely to it's primitivity. A lot of the cryptic Cook Islands line carving on the butt-end, too, along with the phallus. The phlanges on the butt end served as a counterweight...this is a heavy weapon, over six feet long. The Sali is sort of an old standby on the walls of tiki bars..This one is a little more refined than my "decorator" versions, with a lot more decoration. Neither quench my thirst for perfection or my leans to bad self-criticism, but I am pleased.