Kapu Kahiki's Karving Korner- 9/13: Little Marquesan and pics fixed!

thought I'd go ahead and start a thread of my own stuff...
First, my half Benzart from Coon-Tiki

Ben's side....

My side...

together

All in all, not bad. I learned a lot on this one!

"Out of the water I am nothing"
-Duke Kahanamoku

[ Edited by: Kapu Kahiki 2006-05-03 20:36 ]

[ Edited by: Kapu Kahiki 2006-05-04 23:12 ]

[ Edited by: Kapu Kahiki 2006-05-07 08:38 ]

[ Edited by: Kapu Kahiki 2006-05-07 08:38 ]

[ Edited by: Kapu Kahiki 2006-06-21 14:05 ]

[ Edited by: kapu kahiki 2006-09-01 21:01 ]

[ Edited by: Kapu Kahiki 2006-09-13 20:44 ]

And an original in basswood, the Raratonga Bunny.
I propose a battle to the death between Raratonga Bunny and TikiGap's Tiki Bat!
After carving, I stained it dark mahogany, and added the details in acrylic paint. Some of Basement Kahuna's patented aging techniques for a nice finish, and here we are:



A Kapu Kahiki original!

not sure who I would pick in battle...the bunny could poke the bat with the carrot...so maybe
I would pick him. Pretty cool idea...and the dog in the background...seems to be impersonating
the CoonTiki carving.

KK, That looks like one Evil Rabbit, don't know if I would want to tangle with him.
Very nice job on your BenZart Lesson, Thanks for sharing. I am happy to have met and spent time with you at Coon Tiki.

KK, "That rabbits dynamite, he's got huge razor sharp teeth. Run away!!!" I choose the rabbit. Cool idea. The hook knife is quite a tool, much respect to those who can cut so clean with it. I think you did a great job.

At the prodding of 8FT last month, here are a couple of pics of my home bar, the (you guessed it) Kapu Kahiki! Enjoy!

Panorama NOTE: the tall painted Tiki on the wall to the right is from The Kahiki!

The Bar

The Mugs

Protector of the mugs, 2 1/2 foot tall glazed clay Moai

Hope you like my little getaway, Cheers!

That's a great Tiki pad you've got there. I'm sure you look forward to the end of the working day just to cosy up in there...

Very nice KK - the bunny's very cool too! You could sell those!

Signed,

Not a Pastry Chef

(I cut the crap out of me thumb a couple days ago)

Firstly, thanks to all for the kind words.
secondly, GAP, I cut the hell out of my thumb a week and a half ago! Ironically not carving, but putting a blade into my Warren Cutlery™ hook knife! You are no pastry chef, true. However, your thumb does look like a toe, which freaks me out!

But I digress....

Here is my nearly finished Raratonga Mask.

Primary carving and sanding done a couple of days ago:

Details drawn on and begun:

The 'nostrils' and cheek design will be chiseled and beveled:

Maori-esque chin:

"Out of the water I am nothing"
-Duke Kahanamoku

[ Edited by: kapu kahiki 2006-06-11 08:35 ]

Kapu, the bar is looking really nice. Can I trouble you to post a closer shot of the Kahiki tiki?

...Fresh memories of the cabin, watching that "Coffee" movie with the girl fight scenes and listening to BK's off key ballads. Good times, man! You missed the tornado warnings. Speaking of memories, how's that, er, disk going?

Your Cook Islands mask is looking great. Strangely, mine is at almost the exact same stage of progress. As in, same as when I left TN, but with a lot of pen markings for what I am planning on carving. Nice pics, post more progress, and show us the rest of those great tikis that you are planning in your head right now. As you get them done, that is.

Cheers,

A-A

Thanks, Aaron!
I thought your mask was great as it stood when we left the cabin! I have been investing some time in mine these last few days and weeks to try and finish up.

Funny you should mention the disk, I need to get footage from Swanky to finish up. Coming along a bit slowly, as my first time using Final Cut, and there is a learning curve for sure.

Stay tuned for more of the Kahiki Tiki. The same style can be seen at Chef Shangri La in Chicago, I will dig up some pics and post those too...

Keep the comments comin', I'll take all the advice I can get!

On 2006-05-03 20:43, Kapu Kahiki wrote:
At the prodding of 8FT last month, here are a couple of pics of my home bar, the (you guessed it) Kapu Kahiki! Enjoy!

Well, well Pez my man, I'm really glad you remembered and shared the photos of your tiki space! Just like you and Aaron, I am also still working on my mask and I am in the sanding stage on my mini Benzart. I don't know about you guys but I recall lots of fun times from Coontiki whenever I pick up the tools and carve! SOOOO glad we did that weekend.
One last thing, you and the Pastry chef take it easy on your thumbs. :P Your friend 8FT

At the request of Aaron, here's a bigger shot of that Kahiki Tiki...

Hope everyone had fun at Tiki Oasis...

Hey Kahik, I'm Loving the detail you are adding to your big mask, it's realy going to be excellent. And WHO is that Yellow-haired guy hangin on the wall there in that last picture. Mighty handsome fella he is.. Love the bar pix too.

Hey Pez! It's been a week or so - how's the raratonga coming? Pictures?

And BTW how's the thumb? That Warren Cutlery™ hook knife ROCKS! Hey, I just noticed - is that 3 tv's behind the bar?

[ Edited by: tikigap 2006-05-12 19:00 ]

Thanks, GAP! Thumb's all healed up, I taped it with some waterproof stuff from Warren Cutlery™ while I carved. It was gnarly, man!
Rarotonga is at a standstill, due to a business trip to California. I actually tried to figure a way to sneak my chisels through, but figured it was too much trouble!
I will be taking a few days out in the hills again this week, hope to finish the carving then, and stain, BK Age® and hang it when I return. Stay tuned for more pics.

On my Bar are a Trader Vic's coconut mug, the Black Trader Vic's Moai mug from SF anniversary, and a genuine TV Menehune. Hmmm.... perhaps I should finally photograph and join ooga-mooga?

BTW, I have all of the Tommy Bahama mugs, what's anyone's opinion of those? Their clothes are too damn big, so I went with the mugs.

"Out of the water I am nothing"
-Duke Kahanamoku

[ Edited by: Kapu Kahiki 2006-06-11 08:36 ]

On 2006-05-13 12:10, Kapu Kahiki wrote:
On my Bar are a Trader Vic's coconut mug, the Black Trader Vic's Moai mug from SF anniversary, and a genuine TV Menehune. Hmmm.... perhaps I should finally photograph and join ooga-mooga?

Ha! That's funny! I meant Televisions, not Trader Vics, and it's funny that you do actually have 3 trader vics there too! Ha!

Pez, thanks for posting the Kahiki pic for me. That is quite an interesting piece. How did you acquire it?

Next time you come out to CA, let me know. Maybe we can hook up at one of the local tiki establishments.

A-A

Aaron,
Sorry I have been away for awhile!
I bought the Kahiki mask from the Kahiki Outlet store in an eBay auction for about $125!

Here we go
Cook-Islands mask from Coon-Tiki was completed several weeks ago.
Here are the last few in-progress and completed shots:

A couple of shots of the 'nostril' pattern, beveled in

Finished pics:

The chin pattern. The wood did not like my original pattern (see above). I like this just as well, I think it evokes a skull.

Forehead design

Sides details

I love the finish and sheen that the tung oil gave the mask! The red details are simple acrylic, which I oiled over for protection

A Kapu Kahik original! I polyeurethaned the tops and back

Check out the hooks. They are actually picture-hanging hooks, which I flipped over to pound into the back of the mask for hanging on my gate.

"Out of the water I am nothing"
-Duke Kahanamoku

[ Edited by: Kapu Kahiki 2006-09-13 20:42 ]

Well done Pez. Good to see you finished the mask instead of letting it sit there and rot. I need to get back to mine again but I have been on another carving. Love the finish and the hook idea is great. Gotta remember that one.

Yes, Definitely a nice finish and color job there KK. Ready for another CoonTiki

Cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?

I finally found a decent woodshop here in town. It's no smoky mountain carvers, to be sure, but good enough for now!
http://www.woodcraft.com/stores/store.aspx?id=330
I'd prefer a smaller locally owned place, but this is a start...

Anyway, I was checking out some power carvers, and I just had a tough time choosing which is best! Luckily, I didn't want to surprise my wife with a $200 purchase, so I didn't choose...

Anyway, I know that GAP blew out his wecheer, which is what I was looking at. That really held me back, but the power tool kit seems like such a great deal
http://www.wecheer.com/content.php?view=list_prod&cat=ptk

Just looking for some advice on a versatile power chisel/detail tool for carving small details and also doing some sign work. I can't afford something that will die under regular tiki carving use, in other words not a dremel. As I have mentioned before, I am also considering a roto zip with flexshaft attachment.

any tips?

Thanks!

Back to work! And back to the hook knife
Here's my third project currently in the works, a little marquesan-style guy
Hope you all like it...

started with a little square of basswood, which I shaped down to be more like a tiny log



I stopped when I cut myself.

I have invested an hour and a half or so on this guy so far. Hadn't worked with the hook for awhile, but it's coming back to me.
I really dig the small stuff, thanks to Ben for the teaching!

I liked the red details on that tiki

Nice

well it took a little while but your coontiki project turned out great...i also like the red
detail. Looks like a good start on the little Marq too...keep those chisels and hook knife
going..and get some more bandaids.

Looks great so far. The hook knife is a great tool but its not the only one. I have found that the hook knife works great when shaping and making large cuts. For more refined detail and cleanup work I prefer an Xacto knife with a fresh/disposable #11 (straight) blade. The blade is a bit smaller and allows you stronger control for intricate patterns. Also, I like to do the main features first (eyes, mouth, body...) then go into the details that take alot of time. That way if you screw something up, you didn't waste as much time. Watch those digits and keep going.

Awesome carving Kapu. I'm liking the use of color in some carvings lately. Yours is no exception. I was forced to recently, and I must admit that it made quite a diference. Keep on it. I want to see the little guy your hookin right now!

Mahalo

McTiki

whatever happened here?