Thread: Horse Head Stick.

Nice carving!

Claude

Well done, that looks great.

Claude , Cava , thanks ! I'm afraid I lost patience with all the trials & tribulations & sanded it !
I know it could have been better if I'd continued a day or two finding the finished image with edge tools.
Oh well next time ay ?
Mike

nice one
love cherry wood always better when cherry isn't painted its just to good a wood to paint unlike lime
The transition from topper to shank looks good to me How you going to finish the shank?

Originally Posted by cobalt32

nice one
love cherry wood always better when cherry isn't painted its just to good a wood to paint unlike lime
The transition from topper to shank looks good to me How you going to finish the shank?

Thanks Cobalt -Yes , I never paint any stick heads, because 1. I am totally colour blind ! & 2. I love woods natural finished appearance especially when it is tool finished .
Not that I don't see the advantages of coloring stick heads as you demonstrate so well with your current cockatoo tops,for me I limit my subject matter possibilities & would only use a pyro or pen with a single colour with line work.

The shank is already finished (Rustins teak oil) but it has not hardened yet in the photos yet , it'll come up with quite a gloss after it is buffed.

Mike

I have a thumb stick made for a guy he never picked it up or paid for it that the third one , trouble is I cut the shank to his size
the shank is hazel the thumb piece is cherry with buffalo horn caps on will try to find the pics
one of the others is a black bellied whistling duck nice topper ,but it is annoying when the don't fetch them or pay for them as they where made to order

I don't normally take orders now but friends often ask for different birds like falcons etc and croquet takes most of my time as I run the club and play as often as I can

Ask for a deposit on all customised orders - even 25% works well & you can easily explain & justify the practice without souring the relationship .


Mike

very elegant !

I know I should but some guys come across so well there's no reason to doubt there intention when ordering stuff
I have also carved a horses head on a cardigan stick .there not easy to carve as the contours of the face can be tricky this is the horse head in the making cant seem to find the finished on along with a few others people have asked for
I do like natural wood unpainted but lime is a pretty boring wood to look at and needs lifting but wouldn't use paint one a wood of character

Here is a few I did ,one from cherry wood with buffalo horn caps .one from buffalo horn and a natural on capped with rams horn
DSCN3608.JPGDSCN3606.JPG.DSCN3610.JPG DSCN3605.JPGcardigan stick4.JPGCARDIGAN STICKS (14).JPGDSCN3148.jpg

Hmm... nice , like your use buffalo horn in particular - it looks really classy , your thumb sticks are particularly good.

Interesting how you put the carved animal on the front of the stick too - I haven't seen that in the UK. before, just USA. I often think the UK. stick market & tastes are very traditional .

Horses head contours ARE indeed tricky ! - very subtle & completely different from any other animal , just to make them really difficult they have almost as many different breeds as dogs . I've always struggled with horse heads .
Cheers Mike

you so right about the horses heads variation is amazing on them depending on the breed. But any bird etc will have its own colour and you will never see 2 the same if looked at carefully. Just like the old saying " We see but do not look, we look but do not see"
a couple of my friends do cart horses and often carve the bridal and eye guards as well
sometimes the insert leather fixtures to them but the time it takes is amazing
quite a few people tend to specialise in either dogs , horses ,water fowl , birds . Rams horn are very tactile and people will spend around 100 hours making them .The equipment to make them will cost around £ 300- 400 and takes a lot of space up which I haven't got in my modest but scruffy workshop

Years ago I used to do a load of dogs & birds because I have a genuine interest in both these subjects but although I'm still interested in both , I've had enough ! I've done too many !
Now unless I have a new idea about the approach or something - forget it .

You say -" We see but do not look, we look but do not see" - an absolute foundation stone in all art - YES ! I feel certain about this basic truth but would add or FEEL about what we are looking at .

"but the time it takes is amazing " , "people will spend around 100 hours making them ." YES ! keep carving as a passion , a hobby, don't daydream & imagine you can make a wage from it in this modern world & don't spoil your hobby & passion .

Mike

your so right about keeping it as a hobby it is relaxing ,The main thing is I like to do things when I am ready and don't want have to do them to meet time limits
So many people think it could become a business think again there are so many people doing it . and work for nothing always thinking that price is the answer many think there work is good But we all need constructive criticism to help us improve
when I started doing it completely by accident to please my wife whilst she went walking the work is slowly improving as I kept my 1st couple of sticks and now think there terrible
I wonder hour many hours I spend on carving a subject never keep a tally I just normally will sell them when there done just to make room for more ? at lest it pays for tools and a drink