Thread: falcon/mallard hiking pole

I'll be interested to see them finished, particularly the Falcon. Curious to see how you mount and finish the eyes.

Nice work on the carving!

Claude

second stage burning done steel rod fitted with buffalo horn collar ready to fit the falcon to the shank .The collar will need some filing down and polishing to get a good smooth fit to the shank.I will fit the eyes before painting
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This is fine work.
Thats for posting pictures of them.

Kept the eyes practical didn't form the ring around the eye
But must learn to use a air spray always find getting the colour right difficult never seems easy to paint a three dimensional objects and hate that flat looking finish might have been better leaving it unpainted
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You might do better with a tinted shellac. I discovered a while ago that you can create different tints of shellac by adding a few drops of paint tint base to a small quantity of clear shellac to achieve a whole variety of coloured shades. This doesn't take away from the wood as one can clearly see it underneath but it does do wonders for lifting parts of a carving visually. I use it on a number of designs to highlight the various aspects and make them stand out from the rest of the carving.

If you try this a small word of caution: Take note of the colour of the wood as you will have to factor this. Eg: I carved a sea captain and wanted to give him a blue hat and coat. I tinted a small batch of shellac with a few drops of blue paint tint and got a lovely blue wash. I painted it on my captain and suddenly he had an aqua-marine hat and coat. I forgot that the wood underneath had a natural yellowish tint to it and of course when you mix yellow and blue you get green.... It worked out ok but it taught me a lesson.

Originally Posted by Whittling

You might do better with a tinted shellac. I discovered a while ago that you can create different tints of shellac by adding a few drops of paint tint base to a small quantity of clear shellac to achieve a whole variety of coloured shades. This doesn't take away from the wood as one can clearly see it underneath but it does do wonders for lifting parts of a carving visually. I use it on a number of designs to highlight the various aspects and make them stand out from the rest of the carving.

If you try this a small word of caution: Take note of the colour of the wood as you will have to factor this. Eg: I carved a sea captain and wanted to give him a blue hat and coat. I tinted a small batch of shellac with a few drops of blue paint tint and got a lovely blue wash. I painted it on my captain and suddenly he had an aqua-marine hat and coat. I forgot that the wood underneath had a natural yellowish tint to it and of course when you mix yellow and blue you get green.... It worked out ok but it taught me a lesson.

This is how I prefer to colour my wood projects also. Many people use a primer / sealer before painting but I've found this method leaves more of a mat finish . Apparently the idea is to use many layers of diluted colour to get the desired look but I'm all for tinting a finish. This gives more of a translucent or transparent colour where the wood can still be seen. It seems to offer more depth.

Maybe you could try sanding it down lightly with '0000' steal wool. That way you'd at least have more of an an antique look.
You certainly haven't ruined it. The colours you chose are fabulous.
While im new to carving I think finishing wood is as important as carving it and it definitely takes practice. I'm often messing around with my coloured finishes before I'm happy with it.

Oh and I'm definitely on board with keeping a wood sample of each type of wood because they all stain definitely and some have colour in them like whittling mentioned which can throw your colour off some. Plus it's a good idea to use it to practice on so you get an idea how the colour and technique turn out.

I have messed around with water based varnish with acrylic paints , didn't have much luck with them also tried mixing inks with water based varnish to expensive . I not a lover of acrylics at the best of time keep wondering about trying oils paints and varnish .Oil based paints seem to have more life in them and prefer the finish. Problem with them it takes to long to dry.
I did use a water based varnish very thin as a sealant it does work okay . so suppose I will try oil paints and varnish .
I would love to get that tint to wood with colour haven't had much success yet.
trouble is people keep asking for hiking poles and do get a variety of things to carve , but only do what I am interested in.
Latest one is a walking stick with a dolphin handle on it. so those have to be stylised as the dorsal fin is dead centre hardly suitable for a walking stick , so need to do some drawing to see what I can come up with

I have tinted automotive clear to the colour I wanted both two pak and acrylic and both have tinted well. A litre of Autolac clear is just over $30 so it's not too expensive, it does skin very quickly so you have to work quickly or spray it on.

For smaller jobs I like to use a vet supply syringe for getting liquid from the can, makes it mess free and is easy to get the required amount.

Lime wood is generally a plain wood with very little grain identifiable ,and doesn't have the character of most hardwoods. Its generally used for carving items here. most walking stick makers use it for carving toppers of various wildlife most of which are painted .
Good quality hardwood is mostly left in its natural finish just sealed.
There is a lot of rams horn and buffalo horn which are very good quality .for a quick idea whats popular here with walking /hiking poles have a look at stickmakers and supplies on the face book site

you know, there is a market for wading staffs for fly fishing...

cheers,
shawn

yes most stickmakers know it. but they don't seem to be very popular.
The best ones hiking poles that is I think are a rams horn crook followed by buffalo horn, there are some exceptional stick makers maker them
dogs and wildfowl are very popular and tend to be cheaper than rams horn, with some exceptional makers in there field
I tend to make any type of wildlife from rhinos to water fowl and make my own patterns up for them
On the go at the moment is a puffin a griffin and planning a elephant , hoping to use deer antler for the tusks

Just time stops me doing everything I want but its croquet season and it takes priority for me nothing like it a competitive game and a beer with friends on a summers evening.

nice work