Tlingit inspired Raven knife

I spent most of the day in Centralia (or on the train to and from Centralia), so I didn't get much done. I did manage to START shaping the bolster/throat piece. I like the way it's starting to come together. The lines are starting to look like they are flowing. I don't love the handle yet, but it does make a good stand for the piece while I'm working on it.

RavenWIP8.JPG
 
Yes, the bird in the photo is a crow. Ravens have a shorter and heavier beak. The long thin curve of the crow's beak is the easiest thing to spot in telling them apart on the ground. Ravens are woodland birds,too, and usually aren't found in the cities. Crows love people, ravens love solitude.

That aside ,the term is mostly semantics today, as different people ( and cultures) call them both ravens. Ravens are a sub-specie of the crow family apart from the common crow.

The knife is one of the nicer projects you have started lately, Greg. Perhaps a shaman style handle with a rawhide leather wrap, copper tacks, and feathers dangling from a ball shaped pommel carved in the wood?
 
Thanks, Stacy. I think I know what you mean by "a shaman style handle with a rawhide leather wrap." I like the idea.
 
I think you have a cool project here.
I would suggest going to UW's Burke Museum.
They have one of the best collections of Coastal Salish Art that you will find anywhere.
It is pretty close to you.
 
After thinking about the shaman style handle I think I've come up with a way of doing one that would be very sturdy. It will still be push-dagger form, with a shaman twist.

The main body of the handle would be a piece of antler cut near one of the thicker tips. I'd hollow out any pith and use a long nail or screw through the hollow to hold the blade firmly in place. Where the pith was, I will fill the cavity with epoxy. Once it is set up and firm I'll wrap the antler with buck skin strips and secure them at the ends, possibly adding a crow feather or a tuft of rabbit fur. The buck skin wrap will cover the base of the throat/bolster, but the throat section will be clear and visible.

Yesterday I did a bit more work on the bolster piece, continuing to thin out the throat, reshaping the base, and cutting the slot deeper where it connects with the head. It is now VERY sturdy and secure and will hold the head firmly in place. I then reshaped the head slightly in order to make it merge smoothly with the bolster.

I'm still working out how I'll do the eyes. I have ideas, but I want to try them out on junk steel before I commit to the attempt on the actual blade. In the meantime, I'll start working on pulling together everything I need for the handle.
 
I haven't had much time to work on this project this week, due to work and a family crisis. I did manage to finish the coarse shaping of the throat/bolster piece, sloping the "shoulders" down to flow smoothly to the "wings". I did a trial on the original idea for the eyes and decided it wouldn't work, so I'm going to try another idea that I know will work, but will not be quite so striking. I also rounded out the handle piece, and started an antler handle, to see how that would work out. I'm not really happy with the antler, but I haven't given up on it... yet.

Today I'll go to Tandy and get some rawhide. I decided to revert to rawhide because all my buck skin is colored. I've already collected two crow feathers, and will see if I can find more.

RavenWIP10.JPG
 
Today I made the decision to switch to the antler handle and once again reshaped the throat/bolster to fit. I also hollowed out one side of the pith, and will fill that with epoxy when I finish the piece. The handle will also be covered with leather.

Today Carolyn and I went to the Burke Museum and looked at the Voices exhibit. It had a few Tlingit pieces and a few ravens... each with different aspects. I didn't find it all that informative, but I did enjoy myself.

RavenWIP11.JPG
 
I've been watching this project with interest as it is so unique. I look forward to seeing it finished.

I also had to comment on the crow/raven discussion.

bladsmth said:
...The long thin curve of the crow's beak is the easiest thing to spot in telling them apart on the ground....

That aside ,the term is mostly semantics today, as different people ( and cultures) call them both ravens. Ravens are a sub-specie of the crow family apart from the common crow.
Click to expand...

Up here in the NW Coastal area, I can't imagine one could make a mistake telling them apart. Ravens have a peculiar sheen to their feathers, have a much much larger vocabulary, make a loud shwooshing sound when they fly and are about double the size of crows.

I love listening to them.
 
I showed my wife this thread and she says "that looks like Tryppyr's style!"

Cool! :thumbup:
 
This is looking much better. The only thing I can think of is the "sun" needs a bit of rounding and you'll have to figure out some way to mark out the "eye" glyph. You might want to consider stippling. Interesting...
 
Regarding the eye, my current line of thought is to drill a hole that will match a nail/pin. Once I'm done etching the piece, I'll attach the eye parts with a little glue and a pin, then carefully sand the pin down to size. Currently thinking about using silver and or gold for the eye glyphs. I have some small pieces of each that might do. If that proves too complicated, for whatever reason, a simpler piece (such as a very small washer) pinned in place would suffice.
 
My unsolicited thoughts on the eye glypys: Gold or silver would be cool, but I think niello would be really cool. You're clearly ambitious enough to make it work.

- Chris
 
Niello would be cool if I could do it... but bear in mind I don't have an oven, a forge, or a crucible. Basically, I have a MAPP torch for heat, and that's it. I just don't see niello in the future of this project, unless someone has a means of making it without a lot of heat processing.
 
major, selective acid etch might take it to the next level
 
I keep waiting for you to fix the handle.


The back of the handle should have a convex shape to fit inside the concave of the palm
 
12345678910 said:
I keep waiting for you to fix the handle.


The back of the handle should have a convex shape to fit inside the concave of the palm
Click to expand...

The way it is now fits my hand perfectly. That's one of the reasons I opted for the antler instead of the wood... it just fits better, and nothing I did to the wood made it feel as natural. There is a slight convex curve along the top (relative to the head) that fits the curve of the palm. The concave curve on the back nestles into the swell of the thumb. The diameter of the piece matches the longer length of my index finger on the left and the shorter length of the pinky on the right.

It's kinda hard for me to explain, but the way I selected this piece was by grabbing the antler and gripping various parts until I found the bit that felt most natural. I then cut that segment and marked the place between the middle fingers so I'd know where to drill the slot.

I think the problem is the angle on the picture makes it seem flatter than it really is.

- Greg
 
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