Kanaka Maoli Ki'i Carving Class

My uncle decided that it was time to pass on his 190+years of carving knowledge and I was fortunate enough to become one of his apprentices.

Attached are images of my first ki'i, which stands about 14". I strayed from the traditional face and went with my own ideas. This was carved from a soft wood called Black Hau ("How"). This was carved with a couple of flat chisels purchased from the local hardware store.

I am currently working on my second piece a 24" piece of Koa (Pacific Mahogany). I am going to stick with a more taditional face. I will post pics.

Really good to see so many people enjoying the art of carving. It has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. Right behind fishing, of course. How many times can I edit this before the moderators tell me to stop playing with it. :)

[ Edited by: TR 2006-01-05 15:20 ]

[ Edited by: TR 2006-01-05 15:21 ]

[ Edited by: TR 2006-01-05 16:18 ]

Welcome to Tiki Central TR, we are Glad to have you, so pull up a chair and hang out for awhile.
I fixed youe pic's for you. What you diid is what Everyone does the first few posts. You copied the properties of the Thumbnail from Shutterfly. Open the picture First and Then get the properties and you will see a big pic.



Excellent tiki for your "First" and especially with Only a few Flat chisels. You are Fortunate to have such a great teacher.
Keep us posted with pic's of All your stuff and progress shots too if you have them.

Thank you for that posting tip, Benzart!

I will definitely post some more pics tomorrow.

I do feel really fortunate to have such a great opportunity. I plan on carving for the rest of my life.

Thanks again

Those are great! I like seeing yet another style here on TC. Is that a relief crack you made I see on the back?

Nice piece...definitely one of the best firsts I've seen. I was wondering about your name..There was a great movie called Suburbia made back in 1985 that had that reference..any connection?

Awesome piece for a first timer! Obviously you got some skill and that uncle can teach too. Nice work, looking forward to seeing more.

Aloha TR!!!!!
That is a great first or experence carving my friend!!! You have a great wealth of knowledge with your uncle and it looks as though you have been listening and watching well and letting the flow go through and into your carving! Keep having fun and creating those nice carvings. Aloha your friend ,,Mooney

Aloha cuz!
Howzit? Nice Ki'i brah! Ive used hau before and it can be fickle, but for your first carving its Pono! Just wait until you get the flow going brah...Youll be carving like a master in no time! Just a note though bruddah, you called Koa (pacific mahogany) and although it is an acacia which alot of the pacific Islands have, Koa is endemic to Hawaii and grows nowhere else (only maui & big island!). Most kanaka's call it "Hawaiian mahogany" as opposed to "pacific". theres alot of "false" koa out there and other chang kine woods people claim to be genuine Koa so you dont want people to be huikau brah!
Anyway! Its really a great first carving bruddah!

Keep up the awesome work!

Malama Pono!

Thanks for all the kind words, looking forward to contributing to the forum.

The crack on the back of the Ki'i was due to the wood drying out. It was not intentional. I was carving it while it was wet and as it dried it would crack right in front of my eyes. After I soaked the log in salt water for 3 days the crack almost completely disappeared. But I didn't tell you that. :)

The name is Tim Reis (T.R.)no reference to any movie. Love you stuff BK.

Thanks for clearing up the Koa thing, Kaha Ki'i. I am still learning. I have a nice bone fish hook I bought from the Yellowfish Tading Co. on Hanalei. Could that be one of your pieces? I loved it so much I bought one for my lady, who is an avid fisherwoman!

Here is a picture of me with my first ono (wahoo). Just to put a face to the name.

Here is a pic of the ki'i I am currently working on. The log had a slight bend to it and I thought I would be able to make it work. It has turned out to be nothing but trying to correct mistakes due to the bend, but I am really pleased with the way it is turning out. This was as of about 2 weeks ago. I will take more recent pics tonight. The Koa is a lot harder wood and it is a completely different carving experience, from the soft Hau. Gotta love the color and the grains. No wonder everyone loves the Koa.

[ Edited by: TR 2006-01-06 10:49 ]

Aloha again brah!
Hey cuz, that ono is makalapua (damn beautiful!). Nice catch! The Koa carving is looking good brah. Koa does have the most beautiful grains of any wood on the planet! (in my humble opinion!) And you have a nice chunk there brah, shoots!

Acacia Koa was considered sacred by the kahiko Hawai'ians and before a tree was felled for making wa'a (canoe), Ki'i, weapons etc. it first had to be blessed by the priest or ali'i 'ai moku of the district or "moku" which have small split up land divisions called ahupua'a.

Because of the rarity and the endemic qualities of the Koa tree, there are now many organizations across Hawai'i who have replanting programs where Koa seedlings are placed in specific regions to protect and maintain the species...

But, be careful of the ho'opunipuni kine woods brah, there are many chang kine sellers throughout the islands selling regular mahogany or stained teak claiming it to be genuine Koa. So you need to watch out for these unscrupulous sellers...

As far as the makau you bought on Kaua'i brah, Im pretty sure theyre not mine...I only sell to hula moon in Hanalei and End of the rainbow in Haena. Id love to see what kine you bought brah, I may know the kanaka who made them for you!

Anyway cuz, keep up the good work and keep posting & viewing here on TC. There's choke talent on this site and If you ever have a question, theyll be plenty of bruddah's out there to give some great kokua!

Malama pono!

welcome Tr excellent first tiki keep the wood chips flying

Looks like another talented carver has made his presence known...I'd better step up my work... :lol:

Here is a picture of me and a Kagami that I released. I am sporting that hook I bought. Sorry for all the fishing pics, I know this is a carving forum. :)

Fortunately for me, my teacher/uncle is a recognized cultural wood carver(I would say practitioner, but that could be taken the wrong way). :)

He is able to get permits to harvest fallen trees. We went about a month ago and brought up 3 nice logs, 2"-4" / 16-18" diameter. He showed me 3 big Koa trees that the hurricane took down in 1991. The buggas are seasoned. No need worry about that wood cracking.

Thanks again.

Nice first carvings TR!
Koa is so beautiful, I have a small monstera leaf pendant carved from it so now I'm addicted to the wood. I can't wait to see your koa tiki finished.

Your work is wonderful. You have a very good instructor. Most of us here have stumbled through to learn on our own, but you are off to a soaring start.
JP

Nice carving and good tip on the saltwater soaking. I have a tiki that I started and I abandoned it because it was cracking like Chris Rock in New Jack City. Can't wait to see more of your work

Hey, TR. Just wanted to extend a big aloha on behalf of myself and the whole TC crew. You will make us all jealous livin' the island life and learning about tiki carving from the Ohana. Excellent tiki. I obtained a piece of Hau wood in Maui last November - also some "Milo", though I've not carved it yet. My Hau piece looks a lot darker than yours (maybe just the pix?), but it is a beautiful dark brown wood and looks like a nice carve. Are you from Maui, or one of the other islands? Tell us more about your uncle and clan. Details, man!

Aloha,

A-A

Aloha TR, mahalo for joining TC and for the pics and the tips.
For a long time we had very few island guys here. Now more of you are joining, it's good. Keep posting.

Jungle Trader Vic

On 2006-01-06 10:49, TR wrote:

The name is Tim Reis (T.R.)

Now we know what you do when you are not playing saxophone for the Rolling Stones!!!

By the way, love the new "Rolling Stones Project" jazz cd. Met you at Yoshee's in Oakland the night you played for the second set. Awesome show! You look slightly different, probably cause your relaxing and off tour now.