Thread: Joseph Allen in abalone

Here is a 5/8 Joseph Allen & Sons. It was all sorts of rusty with broken scales when I got it. Had to grind through the etching to get rid of pits, but that's the choice that needs to be made sometimes.

Scales are abalone shell. Two solid, thin panels on each side. Not the veneer. Layed on top of 1/16 black g10 liners. Epoxy resin with black pigment holds together. No clear coat. Sanded flat as the material would allow. Micromesh, then red/blue compound on buffers, and hand polished. The seams are smooth transition and can't be felt. What you can feel is the shell, and that's nice. This is my first shell without clear on top. I had thought would need additional pins to secure the shell, but concede that is not required. Although, the edges need to be kept square this way, but I really like making rounder edges.

Nickel rods, stainless washers with a slight dome. Blue G10 wedge.

The Abalone is not as straight as the raw mother of pearl, being wavy. You may notice wedge side of scales are thicker show side than back side. Similar at rear. Inboard is flat and square, due to liners. Blade centers beautiful. At first I was very frustrated by the imperfections. Now that it is done, I enjoy it. It is a reminder it is natural.

This was a lot of fun, not just from doing a new project. As I was working with my project, Zomax was also doing some with same material, and it was a blast sending emails back and forth getting tips from each other. Thanks Z!

Many more full size images available here if wanted
Joseph Allen & Sons in Abalone