Scrimshaw on 1911 Stocks

[Jason_G]

Hey guys,

Mike (davismh76) wanted me to start a thread showing some of the work I did on a couple of sets 1911 stocks for him.

So for those that don't know what scrimshaw is, it's basically an art form that has been around a very long time, that involves scratching or etching some medium (usually horn, bone, teeth, or ivory), and then rubbing some sort of color into the scratches to make the design show up. It became very popular with sailors, whalers, and fishermen in the 1800s.

Sailors would take a sharp object like a nail, a sewing needle used on the canvas, a tip of a knife, an awl, or whatever was handy, and scratch designs into whale teeth, walrus ivory, or bone, and then rub a soot and oil mixture into the etching.

Because it started out as a nautical art form, the traditional scrimshaw subject matter would be what a man on a whaling boat would think about most often: nautical scenes, and naked women :p.

I use a scribe, and instead of soot, I use India ink or oil paints to highlight the work.



At any rate, this is sort of a pictorial of some work in progress. The designs on these are a 1st SFOD-D emblem, and the Army Aviation emblem.


After working with Mike and getting his design together, I used the scribe to begin etching the design into the stocks. This set is water buffalo horn, so I use lighter colors on these. This is sometimes called reverse scrimshaw. When looking at these, keep in mind that my camera sucks, and the black set is extremely glossy, which means they are pretty much impossible for me to photograph well. They actually look much better in person.

Laying out the design with a light hand:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/Layout1.jpg

After getting the design to where I was satisfied with it, I began getting a little heavier-handed with the scribe, to make sure the work really "pops" against the black background. After working with the scribe a bit, I rub the white oil paint into the etching to see what it looks like, and what areas I need to work some more with the scribe. It's sort of a back and forth process with the scribe and the paint, until you get things where you want them. Here's a look at that stage in development:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/grips2_resized.jpg

These particular stocks were to have color on them in certain places, so I began to add color where the highlights were wanted. On these, the Delta lightning device and the wings from the Army Aviation device were highlighted with yellow and gold. Color has to be added in layers, over and over again, to build it up. Otherwise, it doesn't show.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/grips3resized.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/grips5-15.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/grips5-15_2.jpg

The finished set:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/Grips5-16.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/grips5-18.jpg


The other set that I did for him were bone, so they would be a traditional black on white scrimshaw.

Again, starting with a light hand, and getting the designs laid out:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/whiteDelta5-21.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/whitepropandwings5-21.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/whiteset5-21.jpg

And then getting more aggressive with the scribe:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/whiteDelta5-23_good.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/whiteDelta5-25.jpg

And the finished set:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/Delta5_29.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/whitesetpropandwings5_29.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/whitegrips5_29_1.jpg

Hope you guys enjoy the pics!

Jason

[douglas_knott]

Love em. they look great.

[NAMVET72]

Very Nice.................


Clyde

[Roverron]

Nice!

[AutoMag]

They look real nice Jason!!:)

[ColMike]

Jason, Great work and I really appreciate them. I'll put them on a weapon as soon as I get them and show them off for real!

[sdmc530]

Exellent work, very well done!

[Jason_G]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the kind words.

FWIW, I will be starting the COTEP grips very soon.


Jason

[Big Smoke]

Those look awesome! I can't wait to get mine back! :D

Nice work, Jason! :)

[jmlutz]

Those look great!

[Snipersnest]

Nice looking grips. Being from the Whaling City, New Bedford, (Think Moby Dick), I'm very familiar with scrimshaw. The Whaling Museum has some really nice articles made from whale bone that was scrimshawed by the whalers. They all depict whaling scenes and the old whaling ships back in the day. They also made articles from the whale bone such as the old tools they used to make the wavy edges on pie crust, jewelry boxes, etc.

[Jason_G]

The Whaling Museum has some really nice articles made from whale bone that was scrimshawed by the whalers. They all depict whaling scenes and the old whaling ships back in the day. They also made articles from the whale bone such as the old tools they used to make the wavy edges on pie crust, jewelry boxes, etc.

Yeah. Unfortunately, I've only ever seen that stuff in photos. Being from the Deep South, I'm pretty far removed from the whole Northeast nautical culture. I would love to actually see some of those pieces in person. It would be neat to see work done by actual bored sailors on those whaling boats.

I think the next thing I'd like to try my hand at, as far as scrimshaw goes, is a powder horn. I want it to be functional though, and I've never done the muzzle loader thing, so I might have to recruit a little technical advice when I get ready to tackle that one.

Jason

[TLE2]

COTEP Grips? For Sale, even? Wow and excellent!

[ColMike]

The grips came today. I wish Gary was here to help with the pics. I don't do them justice. The black is like a mirror. Anyway, here's what I could do.

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt204/davismh76/Pair45s1.jpg

The pair.

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt204/davismh76/Commanderleftsside.jpg

Commander left side

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt204/davismh76/closeupCommanderrtside.jpg

Closeup right side Commander

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt204/davismh76/CCOrtside.jpg

CCO Right Side

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt204/davismh76/CCOleftside.jpg

CCO left side

Jason, they are great. Sorry my pics don't do them justice.

[NAMVET72]

Very Sweet looking Mike, can't wait till mine get Done and Sent to Me,


Clyde

[Jason_G]

Jason, they are great. Sorry my pics don't do them justice.

Thanks. They are definitely hard to photograph.

Jason

[Jason_G]

Here's a set done for Clyde, on Gabon ebony.

Fleet Marine Force pin on one side,
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/Rightpanel.jpg

Navy Hospital Corpsman on the other
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/itsthewhitmans/jason/leftpanel.jpg

Camera did not like taking close-ups of these at all, so I apologize for the "zoomed out' view. The macro shots came out very grainy looking.

The COTEP logo grips are next, starting with BigSmoke. Anyone that posted an "I'm in" in the COTEP scrimshaw grips thread, will be getting a pm in the order that they posted.


Jason

[ColMike]

more nice work!

[NAMVET72]

Very Nice Jason , Thank You for your Time on them.............

Only one Question does the CBOB come with them????????

Clyde

[AutoMag]

The grips look very nice Jason!!:)