A couple more weapons

Uhh I love the second one , so great!

Thank you:

TikiG, yeah it is. Men here like the look. Now I know what big breasted women feel like when others stare below the neck line :lol:.

TikiMango, not as busy as I'd like, but thank you. Speaking of busy, you must have a few suprises yourself because I've been waiting to see new pieces from the bone master himself. What's going on. Don't keep us waiting too long now :P.

Clarita, some girl friends of mines really like it too. They love the whale tail incorporated into the design & the koru cut. Not so much the nihoniho(spikes/barbs). Too macho for them I guess.

4WDtiki, yeah, solid Koa. We weighed it & it weighs just about the same as the fiberglass type, about 400+lbs. Also, no worries, I'm just a gentle giant kinda guy. It's all the good local kine grinds we got here; laulau, kalua pig, lomilomi salmon, poke(raw fish), opihi, haupia, poi, that's made me this size. Man just typing this is making me hungry. And no I still haven't made a mold of the Kanaloa. Haven't found the time. Anybody want to have a crack at it? If anyone's interested, PM me so we can talk story/trades :wink:.

Hey bro,

The pendants look great. I especially love the tiki one. The micro paracord looks real nice man. Just a tip if you want to use finer cords that are strong and lash real tight , I would recommend beige Jewelers Twine. You can get it on findingking.com. I always like to experiment with different types of cord and I have really like this stuff. Anyways, great work and keep it up!!

:) Nice!

went through your thread.....amazing work man...just beautiful stuff......any new stuff in the works? thanks for the lashing sketch you posted on the Q&A bone carving thread.....very helpful. its hard to find anything out there. i have a collection building of techniques i had to search high and low for.

Amazing pieces my freind lovin the work and detail.

Very classy looking pieces. Very nice.

very nicely done on both the carve and the lashing. I like it!

Malo everybody for the words of encouragement. I am humbled by all of your compliments. I have a few pieces that I have finished or in the process of cleaning up a bit. I figured I throw it in for suggestions.

First, the finished pieces. A commissioned piece that someone wanted the design out of a sticker that they loved.

They wanted the complete body but I didn't feel like carving the complete body, it just takes too long, unless they were willing to pay more for my time invested. I talked them into just creating the head instead & exagerated a bit from the original design. I dipped it in a vinegar & instant coffee mixture, dried with paper towel, sanded the highlights & redipped in dye for about 20 seconds. Dried & buffed & this is the finished product

Next is my version of an ancient fishing lure which was purposely made as a pendant.

As a kid, I was always fascinated with them & after seeing the diagrams on that nzetc.org site, I just knew I had to make one. So using the diagrams, I tried to lash it as best as I could interpret the diagrams. The wood is Koa'ia which I am told is more rare than Koa. It was cut out from the natural healing scar tissue of a broken branch collar. The back edge is more curved than tradition & is shaped with a solid edge.

Only native artisans are allowed to harvest only dead trees or dead broken branches. I got some from a friend who makes Hawaiian war clubs. I like the wood because it’s harder than Koa and polishes darker. I have no tung oil so I rubbed on olive oil & rubbed off excess a couple minutes later.

My lure awaiting aproval from one of my green friendly lawn mowers.

Next, although not tiki related, I made a pair of chopsticks for my wife’s hair. They’re made of Koa & I burnished the Chinese symbol of her name, Stephanie(at least that’s what the internet website said) on the end. It was my first time using a burnisher.

I drew the symbols with pencil & just traced the drawn lines with the burnisher. After the sanding & burnishing, I rubbed olive oil on them & wiped off excess a couple minutes later.

I was fortunate to go to a music store for my son who needed something for his first year in intermediate school band & there was a custom picture frame shop next door which had a box of scrap pieces of wood. I asked the store owner if I could take it which he allowed. I scored because a lot of pieces were long, narrow, thin pieces of Koa which I immediately pictured chopsticks in my head.

This here is from another piece of Koa from the box of treasures from the frame shop. I grabbed a strip of wood & was thinking of possibilities & came with an idea of a taiaha head. This is actually my first wood carved piece in life. I had fun till the intricate carvings of the spirals came up. I wasn’t really happy with how the carvings of the brows were coming out so I stopped here.

I don’t have any paua for the eyes but I feel that the intricate lines of spirals, especially the ones that traditionally are carved on the tongue/blade would make it more complete. I was thinking of just burnishing the lines on instead of cutting them out. It is a really small piece of Koa which is a little soft. I’m afraid of a small slip of the blade that’ll just ruin the entire piece. Any suggestions out there?

Finally, I initially started this design as a simple petroglyph open work because of my recent outrigger paddling interest, I didn’t like the idea of wasted material so I included an oval shape behind the subject which later evolved into a surfboard shape, thus my SUP petroglyph boarder.

This is just a rough cut. I’m still deciding if I should make the entire piece with dimples like porous lava rock or maybe just the board. Any suggestions?

LOVE those lawnmowers over there! And LOVE all your new pieces. You just gave me the confidence to say "NO" to friends who want massive undertakings on too big of a carve! LOVE it!
On the SUP guy, making the board pourus, wouldn't look like a board anymore. I dunno, maybe you can make that work...I guess I'd like to see it. You can be the guinea pig!! HA HA.
On the Maori piece, I'd think you'd have access to plenty of Paua? Hit up ebay if not...
http://cgi.ebay.com/4A-PAUA-ABALONE-INLAY-BLANK-VENEER-3-x5-10-00-D28-D45-/230197443286?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3598d63ad6#ht_1803wt_1139
There's so many good uses for it.
Just' loving your stuff.

the fishing lure is so beautiful, congrats!

Sweeeet! You should have tried wood long ago.

Thanx Surfintiki for the tips, I guess you'd be right about the board not looking like one anymore. Thank you Clarita & Tikilizard for your kind words.

I decided to try the burnishing on the Taiaha pendant.

I can't say that I am 100% happy with the results because the natural curl in the grain on the tongue of the before pic was lost due to the busy graphic design that I was trying to achieve. Sometimes less is more which was a lesson well learned.

Next is my stylized version of an eternity twist which I made for my wife carved out of bone.

I manged to clean a lil bit of my sup surfer & polished it up but I noticed that in order for the image to be viewed right, he had to be under certain light conditions for the shadows to bring him out. I wanted him to pop out no matter what the lighting conditions or what position it was being viewed from so I decided to stain the entire piece & sand the surfer image for contrast against the board.

I also made a tahitian or marquesan(not sure which is which) styled tiki hook with some kind of tattoo styled engravings. I accidentally dropped the piece during sanding stages and the hooked piece that I rely on for my lashing broke off. Not wanting to glue it back on, I decide to just incorporate the remaining knub in the design so I smoothed out the rough & sharp edges, filed deep enough grooves for the lashings to bite on to, & this is what I got.

Lashing this hook was immensly difficult because I never drill holes for my hooks if I tend to lash them in this style. I had difficulty lashing the first step 3 times around the cord without the loops wanting to run away while making the transition to the next step. That is why the broken end piece is so critical in my lashings. It was a major pain in the butt!

That is SO BIG, and BADASS!! YEAHH! Worth the effort my friend. SUP dude looks great, I bet every SUP'r would love one of those!

PM sent......

Wow, have I been gone that long?

Just a few pendants I've been working on. I actually had more new designs due to Christmas orders but I was so busy trying to make the mailing deadline to ensure delivery before xmas, I forgot to take pics of them. I got a chance to hop island & spent the holidays with the in-laws on Oahu.

I made this for a friend of mines(former high school art teacher back in Tonga) who lives in Oahu. He actually has his own pendant booth at he back of the Dole Plantation visitor's center. His pendants are far more superior to mines using the rarest of raw materials, but I still wanted show him how much he has influenced my new hobby. I wish I could show you pics but he does not allow picture taking of his carvings for fear of others copying his designs. Just to give you an example of how exquisite they are, while I was there, a woman used her credit card to buy 2 pendants made of wooly mammoth tusks(ivory) for $5,000 a piece.

I made this stingray out of beef bone and like my manta rays, I wanted to portray movement which I tried to make with the ripples on the sides. I dunno, I was just playing around, making it up as I went along I guess.

This here is a contemporary design of a traditional Hawaiian Makau being that it is more elongated than usual. I made it this way because I didn't want to waste a lot of the material, being that this is made from sperm whale ivory(tooth). I was given some scrap whale ivory from a friend who gets them from Niho Palaoa carvers. I was fortunate to find a fairly large enough piece to make this. I was even able to use the cut out center peice for the toggle.

The two pendants on my neck. Please excuse the bad lighting. The pic was taken at night and the camera flash was too bright.

This is a hei toki made for my wife's birthday...

and this is the other side of it with an "S" for my wife's name, Stefanie carved as a double koru symbolizing our two children. A two-in-one or reversible pendant.

Just a plain hei toki. I'm still thinking if I should make this a reversible pendant as well.

A coffee stained Tanagaloa.

top & rear view of Tangaloa showing how I attatched the loop. I thread a short piece of micro-paracord. Burn the ends till they swell up and that, prevents them from coming out.

This pendant intially started off as a hei toki but as I kept grinding down, it was becoming more porous, so rather than ditch the project, there was enough solid material to carve something else so a Moai came to mind. I was just going to carve the head and discard the rest but then figured I play around with the remaining shape and carve a body. When I was finished, I was kinda plesed with the results so I just kept it as is. This is my evolving Moai Toki(is there even such a thing?). I threaded a loop similar to the Tangaloa.

This is a koru designed matau with tatatau(tattoo) motifes. A commissioned piece for a mixed polynesian man(Tongan, Tahitian, Maori). The braided weave(Tongan design, left side) symbolizing his cultural roots intertwined with each other creating him. The human form(Tahitian design, center) symbolizing himself. The 3 korus(Maori design, right side) reminding him always that everyday life begins with a relationship with God first(top), family second(next below), before he can consider thinking for himself(bottom).
I lashed this hook on wihthout drilling a hole & don't ask 'cause I could'nt even remember how I lashed it. I just played around with different styles and eventually ended with this final look. It sure took me long enough.

This is a sperm whale tooth that my friend(the one who gave me whale ivory scraps) wants me to carve something out of. The dilemma I'm facing is that he wants something traditional Hawaiian, not scrimshaw, and hanging with point down. Anybody on TC with ideas are more than welcome to post a comment. I do have something in mind but it is not traditional, more contemporary, & my design would have it hanging with the tip side up(in my design, there won't be a tip).

The whale's tooth was pulled from a dead whale carcass that had drifted to shore years ago.

Yer stuff's lookin' better and better, Nutzo! I think my favorite is that Marquesan hook.

You have certainly picked it up. This is my fav...

I did a Boar Tusk not to long ago that is similar to what you are describing with the whale's tooth. One thing I wanted to do is cut all the way thru in the crown, but my skills with bone are not that refined. Perhaps you can figure it out. There is a lot of material there to work with. The point of the tooth was formed by the hands and chest (as a bust not a full body). The curve of the tusk gave it a lot of character.
http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=tflounder#/d2blagx

I look forward to seein what you come up with. Don't be such a stranger.

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2011-03-07 07:12 ]

God, there ALL great! I like the stingray, haven't seen a design like that before.

Yes, definitely post more often. Lots of excellent stuff going on here!

Thanx you guys for the comments.

So I called the whale tooth guy and discussed with him my idea & showed him a quick sketch of it. He seemed pretty stoked & is willing to go along. My selling point was, "Why have traditional when you can be the only one in the world to have this?" I guess I'll be working out the details, so it's back to the lab for me. Till then, A HUI HOU!

Daaaaaaaaang thatsa-a-nice!!!!!!! Your work is beatiful and very detailed. Cant wait to see what ya do with that tooth. Keep the pics coming.

That is some beautiful work. I don't know how you guys pack so much detail into such tiny objects. I think that has got to be so much more difficult.

Greetings from the Hilo side!

Great work, keep posting!

Very nice new work Coconutzo!
Especially love the Ku head and the tatooed matau.
You have a nice material with this tooth... Can't wait how your skills will transform it into piece of art.

Very nice...that Ku is awesome!!!

Kewel stuff!

MMumm Good!

I was commissioned to do a traditional Lono head on top of a 4.5' long staff of Kauila(Alphitonia ponderosa), which is a very rare wood. I've been told that it can withstand the elements of Hawaii weather for years. There are actual fence posts used today out in the countryside of Ka'u which were erected over 60 yrs ago. To date, this would be my 3rd project made of wood which to me can be intimidating.

This wood was a very, VERY hard & dense wood and pretty heavy for it's size. For a stick that meaasured 4 1/2' long & about 2" in diameter at it's widest, it weighed in at a cool 7lbs. I tried to use the chiesels I had but I was having a hard time penetrating & controling the cuts. It also didn't help that there were already cracks in the wood. So I had to make a trip to Home Depot to buy a rasps & files set to help with the manual grinding. I used my dremel to make detail cuts for the inlay cavity and the nose and used a chisel to hand shave the roughouts of the rasps & files used. Then I cut out the eyes from whale tooth ivory scraps, fitted them in the cavity, drilled about an inch deep and pounded in a tapered peg made of Koa. Sand, polish & got a very happy customer.
In fact, he was so happy, that he invited me to share a booth with his club, The Royal Hawaiian Order in a major craft fair during the Merrie Monarch Festival happening on April 24-30 here in Hilo. I'm stoked yet feel a lil' unprepared because I don't have much inventory of finished pieces. I can barely find the time to carve. I guess I gotta make the time, huh.

Notice the cracks I had to deal with.

I actually like the cracks because it makes the image seem more antique with an ancient feel to it.

The image had to face one way because of this huge crack!

So I got the invite last week & I've been trying to pump up my production when I have the chance.

This is an Orca, I don't know why but I just had this image when looking at the bone. It just fit, I guess. Against my better judgement though, I carved between the tail flukes when I knew they'd need some sort of support to prevent breakage. A hard lesson learned. Oh well, you win some & lose some. I'll salvage the piece by shortening the flukes.

Here is a carved Hammerhead shark where the top is done in relief.

Because of the popularity of SUP surfing, I'll be carving more of these. This is not as big as my first one though. The 2 eyelets are because I wanted to see how it'd look like attatched to a 2 part necklace instead of the typical one neckace, if that makes any sense. :roll:

I made this because locals, here on the Big Island have island pride the size of the island, BIG and aren't afraid to show it. I carved a petroglyph paddler too for the love of paddling. I actually came up with this idea during the last outrigger paddling season but only last week carved it out. The battery pack went out on the drill which is why there is no hole on the extra tab there.

I loved the flow & shape of this hook so much that I had to make another one.

And finally, what I'm sure you all came here to see. Another tiki head which I just finished carving yesterday.

All that remains are sanding & polishing :cry:. Not looking forward to that. Oh almost forgot, I still have to braid the necklaces for them too :x

Still got more to carve so I gotta go. I'll keep postin new stuff when I find time to carve. Till then, te tau toki fetaulaki!

Loving the Ku pendant and the Lono walking stick with the inlaid eyes. Best of luck with the show.

All nice pieces, nuttzo! I like the double attachment on the paddler necklace. Seems like that would keep a piece from turning backwards when you wear it!

Man, Bunch'A Nice Stuff there coconutzo, Nice Work.

Wonderful bone carving Coconutzo!

And most wonderful walking stick... Look authentic and ancient.
Very nice!

J.

WOW!! That's about all I can say, your work is phenomenal. Nice to see someone from my favorite place in the world, the Big Island doing such awesome work. If and when I ever get back, I'll have to try to meet you in person.

Aloha!

Paul

Nice work. Love the ku.

Sharpen your tools after that Kauila wood!
Love them bones!
Just SUP'd this weekend, 40 degree water, slightly different that than the temps on Oahau I had 2 weeks ago!
Love that shark too!

Malo 'e lelei Tikinatics!!

Merrie Monarch Week was such a blast! I was ecstatic because this would be the first time I'm commercially exposing my pendants in the craft fair arena. I met tons of wonderful people who enjoyed looking at what I had to offer. But nevermind me blabbering, I'm just gonna show you what I made.

First off, I was so busy with carving, sanding, braiding cords, & lashing that I forgot to take pictures of all my pieces. So this picture is what I had left on the last day of the three day craft fair event.

This is a Moai fish hook with tattoo motifes of a fisherman on one side...

and a birdman(tangata manu) petroglyph on the other.

A Tahitian Ta'aroa fish hook...

and tattoo motifs on the other side.

A Lono Makau...

and on the reverse, with tattoo motifs of the nihoniho.

There was a Tahitian Black Pearl vendor there who really loved my two tikis here...

I really didn't want to sell them unless the price was right so I was selling the bodied tiki for $400 & the head for $200. Lucky for him & my wife, on this last day of the fair, April 30th was me & my wife's 12th wedding annivesary so he traded a beautiful Tahitian Blackpearl necklace worth $800 with the two tikis. A little bittersweet moment because my wife loved her annivesary gift but I think I'd rather take cash instead. :lol:

Here's a Taiaha spearhead which I embedded cubic ziconia into the eyes.

You may have seen some of these following carvings but I just want to show them again lashed onto the necklace cords.

The following pendants are carved from ancient ivory from the Wooly Mammoth Tusks between 20,000 - 50,000 yrs. old.

And lastly, although I never technically carved it. This was the last of 10 ancient ivory scrap pieces which were too small for me to be creative but I thought would be a waste to throw away so I just drilled holes & lashed them to cords & turned them into pendants. I was selling them easily, starting at $30 & up depending on size. For ancient ivory over 20,000 yrs. old, I'd figure there'd still be some value in them. For once, I was right! :lol:

Tommorrow, I'll post some of the pendants which I have listed on ebay in the TC Marketplace if any of you are interested in purchasing. Some of these have been sold since picture was taken but I can take requests if you see something you're interested in.

Till then, 'A hui hou!!!

[ Edited by: coconuttzo 2011-05-04 07:04 ]

On 2011-05-04 04:11, coconuttzo wrote:
A Tahitian Ta'aroa fish hook...

and tattoo motifs on the other side.

I'd wear any of them, but THIS one is so awesome!

AWESOME! Everyone!

Awesome awesome awesome

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!

You are a carving god!!!!!!!! Beautiful work .......just amazing

My listed pendants on ebay! Goto my Tiki Marketplace Page for the links;

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=36635&forum=12&start=last&6

OH MAAAAN...I GOT ONE!

just bought this one...thanks coconutzo

Malo 'aupito to everyone for your kind words & support. I'd also like to especially thank Mr. Creative Chimp for the purchase of the Ta'aroa Matau. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did in carving it out.

I just listed the following in ebay. If interested in any, check my TC marketplace link at the top for the ebay links.

I just finished another Kuka'ilimoku pendant. This time you can tell he is a male. I was contemplating if I should of carved him donning a malo, the traditional loin cloth but opted for the birthday suit instead.

Traditionally, in ancient times Hawaiian tikis were always dressed with natural fibrous materials covering their loins. They just decayed faster than the hard wooden counterpart and ever since the introduction of Christianity, the people never restored the loincloths for the tiki thus the naked images ever so present today.

Maybe the next one I carve will be wearing a malo.

I just listed him on ebay so if anyone's interested, he'll be in the Tiki Marketplace forum.

Fantastic detail!! Real nice.

Hey Tikiholics!

Here's my single weekend warrior project I started last Friday & just finished lashing this morning. Although it took a few days to make, it took me about a week to come up with a final design I'd be happy with. Although I'd like to keep it for myself, I gotta pay some bills so this is going on the ebay block. If you're interested, check out the marketplace for the link.