Category: Iron & Metalwork
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River Grass Knife, Reworked
River Grass Knife was the first blade that I forged. Made in 2004 from high-carbon steel, its blade and handle have the graceful curves that develop naturally as the steel is hammered thin on one edge (for the blade) or drawn out (for the handle). At the time, I had no belt sander to speed…
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Spectacle Fibula
The spectacle fibula is a type of coiled wire brooch from the late Bronze Age of southern Europe. The ancient ones were made from bronze wire and would have been bright golden when they were new, but most now have a dark green patina. To make the wire, a thin strip of bronze was chiselled…
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Forged Iron Tendril Bracelet
This bangle bracelet is forged from an 8-inch cut nail that was split, drawn out, rounded, coiled, and shaped to just under 4 inches in diameter. It was hand polished to a mirror finish before blackening. Because of its wavy shape and smooth, round contours, it is very well balanced and I can hardly feel…
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More on the Tucson All Souls Procession 2010
I’ve put a video of my bell staff on Youtube. With eight bells tinkling and clanging at once, it makes a surprisingly sweet and beautiful sound. Several of these bells (with various hangers and ornaments) are for sale on my website, but I moved them to the staff temporarily, just for the procession. The staff…
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Tucson All Souls Procession 2010
More photos from last night’s procession can be seen on the Flickr group for this event: http://www.flickr.com/groups/tucson_all_souls_procession/ This year I had neuropathy to deal with as well as the usual asthma, so I decided to carry a walking stick. I strung my iron bells on a staff made from an agave stalk, and decorated it…
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Ankle Bracelet with Iron Rattle
This is a pellet bell that I cold-fabricated out of steel sheet. Four rivets attach the domes to the hanging loop, and there is an iron bead inside. It was more work than I expected, but would probably be OK as a production item if I had the flat steel blanks commercially laser-cut, and formed and riveted them…
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Late Autumn Moon
We had rain for the Full Moon, which is unusual for October. Here’s the moon a couple of days before that, with high clouds and rings that told of the coming storm. Halloween will mark the end of autumn and is the night when the creeks turn black for the beginning of winter. These last few days…
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Iron Spirit Boat with Mica Moons
Spirit Boat made from 1/8″ steel plate, forged into the shape and size of a Coralbean seedpod (Erythrina flabelliformis, a desert shrub). Drilled with six beveled holes and ornamented with three large catfish ribs that are tied in place with hemp cord. The ribs were originally several inches longer but I cut them down to…
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Copper Ore Necklace
Primitive elegance: This Copper Ore Necklace has a curved, articulated collar-type neckpiece of forged 6, 12, and 14-gauge copper wire with handmade copper ore beads. The front pendant is 1.75 inches long. Its is made of three metallic ores. All are rather soft and are usually found only in small pieces, so they are rarely made into beads, though they are…
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Iron and Silver Double Pod Amulet
Pendant with two nesting pods, 3.5 inches long. The larger one is steel, forged from a cut nail, with dotted bur-textured interior. The black finish has been slightly polished on the inside wavy edges to reveal the shining dark gray iron underneath. The smaller pod is sterling silver, forged from heavy 6-gauge wire. It has…
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