New horn box

[Rick Sheets]

Here is a keepsake box I turned out of mesquite wood and natural cow horn. The finial and inlay are also of natural cow horn. I engraved the horn with Germanic fractur inspired elements in a folk art style. (I try not to use Penna Dutch term for the art as we have lots of similar art down here in NC and the artists were not Pennsylvanian and not Dutch.)
It is only five inches tall and two and a half inches wide at the base. It is gift for my Mom's 80th birthday here in a few days.

[The Original Griz]

That is super, bet you mom will like it a lot, especially since it was made from her son, thems the best kind of gifts. Happy Birthday Mom Sheets

[Tim Crosby]

 Nice work Rick, well done and great design work. Does the scroll at the top say something or does to just look like lettering?

   Tim, C.

[skillman]

That's very nice Rick. I made similar bowels and containers for my Mom for several years. She loved them. Her 84th was yesterday and I gave her flowers. She has gotten so blind she can't see them well enough to appreciate them anymore.

Steve

[G. Elsenbeck]

Rick, excellent and super engraving.  Especially I love the fact that your wood to horn fitting is excellent (no gaps).  Keep up the good work sir.

Gary

[smallpatch]

Rick, really nice work.  Plug fitment is excellent as well as the decorations scrummed on the horn.

You know she's gonna love it, almost as much as that hand print ashtray you gave her first grade.

[Tim Crosby]

 I do not know if Rick did it this way but one way to get a good fit like that is to turn the base so the horn fits in it not just sitting on it. The lid can be fit the same way.

   Tim C.

[Rick Sheets]

Thanks for the compliments. I am lucky to live near two great historic craftsmen (Bill Carter and Don Fererro, both good friends and Horn Guild members), who have shown interest in making sure I do things right. I appreciate their help!

Fit: Yes, I turn a male taper on the base to go into the horn. The height of the male part is matched to the lines on the horn so their is no shadow of the male part when the horn is pressed on the base. I turned a little taper on the base where the horn mates so a small gap kinda disappears. I got lucky with a nice piece of horn also.

Scrim: Nope no words in there at all. In the future I will inlay a little horn disk on the bottom for an inscription. I used a carbide scribe for the scrolls and a blade for the straight lines. I am still not loving the scribe. I do not know how John Dewald gets such a sweet calligrapher's line with such a tool, but I will keep trying.

Thanks again.

[Tim Crosby]

 I cant see a thing wrong with the carving, looks like the scribe is working. The shading and depth/back ground is really well done.

  Tim C.

[Ahtuwisae]

I used a carbide scribe for the scrolls and a blade for the straight lines. I am still not loving the scribe. I do not know how John Dewald gets such a sweet calligrapher's line with such a tool, but I will keep trying.

Thanks again.

Rick...I guess what you start with becomes the comfortable tool for your work.  I started with a scribe so it is familiar to me.  I recently traced and made a tool like Mr. Proud's to do some work and am having difficulty in finding the nuances of blade work.  Keep at it.  The scim on that box is very, very nice...nothing to be too critical about here!!  Look at some older examples and you will see you are right up there with the craftsmen of old!!!  Great job Rick.

[Eric Smith]

I like it. It just amazes me the different ways you can use a horn to make thinkgs that are usefull. Good looking piece.

[The Original Griz]

I do not know how John Dewald gets such a sweet calligrapher's line with such a tool, but I will keep trying.

Rick, just remember one very important point, you are NOT John Dewald, just like not everyone making bags is not Ken Scott. We each have our own style and the way we do horns and that is not only what makes individualism but also make the different "schools" of horn making, and that is what some folks spend a lot of time researching today.
 I am not saying to stop striving to be better, but I am saying to not compare yourself to someone else's work. Always keep in mind, if you are happy with your work and the folks buying your horns are happy with your work, who cares what others critics say.
We are our own worse critics....

[G. Elsenbeck]

Well said Griz, well said. 

And keep up the excellent work Rick!! 

Happy horning.
Gary

[Horner75]

I do not know how John Dewald gets such a sweet calligrapher's line with such a tool, but I will keep trying.

Rick, just remember one very important point, you are NOT John Dewald, just like not everyone making bags is not Ken Scott. We each have our own style and the way we do horns and that is not only what makes individualism but also make the different "schools" of horn making, and that is what some folks spend a lot of time researching today.
 I am not saying to stop striving to be better, but I am saying to not compare yourself to someone Else's work. Always keep in mind, if you are happy with your work and the folks buying your horns are happy with your work, who cares what others critics say.
We are our own worse critics....

Grizz,
You couldn't put it better or any plainer! ___  That has always been my belief and one that MORE craftsman should believe in and less hypocritical about!

Rick,  Very nice engaving and construction!

Rick

[Ahtuwisae]

I do not know how John Dewald gets such a sweet calligrapher's line with such a tool, but I will keep trying.

Rick, just remember one very important point, you are NOT John Dewald, just like not everyone making bags is not Ken Scott. We each have our own style and the way we do horns and that is not only what makes individualism but also make the different "schools" of horn making, and that is what some folks spend a lot of time researching today.
 I am not saying to stop striving to be better, but I am saying to not compare yourself to someone else's work. Always keep in mind, if you are happy with your work and the folks buying your horns are happy with your work, who cares what others critics say.
We are our own worse critics....

Amen

[Rick Sheets]

I will keep at it so I can pick-up a tool and get what I want out of it. I think that if somebody uses just one tool he might get stale and predictable.

I have seen great lines and techniques from many different tools.

Next I am going to try a point like Jeff Bottiger uses. He actually pushes his blade and the flips the work around and pares away at the existing cut at an oblique angle (still pushing the blade). He varies the pressure to get a wonderful line. Watching him engrave is like watching a magician.

There are so many good engravers out there. Studying their work and giving it a shot is great fun.

Thanks again for the encouragement!

[mtgraver]

Looking Good Rick
I typically use a small knife, a burin and a small skew chisel for my engraving. I use a stylus doing a more modern style of pointillism type engraving, in steel the Italians call the technique bulino, still considered a form of scrimshaw when done on horn, ivory, bone and the like substances.
Mark