Thread: Carving Ivory Scales

Wonderful work and great write up! This write up took me from " wow I wish I could do something like this" to " hey I think I can do something like this"

Originally Posted by HardCase

Wonderful work and great write up! This write up took me from " wow I wish I could do something like this" to " hey I think I can do something like this"

As Martha Stewart says,,, " that's a good thing". Gotta start somewhere. Some guys a few hundred years ago started scratching designs on stuff along with digging , poking and carving Ivory with pretty simple tools. If they did it without the benefit of a Home Depot etc. as well as an internet full of videos and designs I think we have a pretty good chance of pulling something off.
As it's been said there isn't much that is new. We merely stand on the shoulders of those that went before us.
And look what a guy like Michelangelo did with marble without the benefit of jackhammers, power grinders etc.
be a little resourceful , give it some time but most importantly give it a try.

Originally Posted by mycarver

Hehehe! Yeah, how about it. A silly world? Yup. A silly button? For sure! Who knew one thing such as that button was more important than any work that gets shown to possibly ignite an idea in someone's mind?
Well it is what it is and obviously I found the button. That's the most important thing I guess .

Nice work, Mark. Excellent tutorial. Easy to hit that like and thanks as guys are complementing your work, eh? Not really the most important thing, however.
Liking, thanking, commenting, providing advise and encouragement, engaging in conversations on OTHER people's work might be a good next move to become a participant here and not just a simple 'self-promoter'. More guys here than just you! Food for thought. YMMV

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Nice work, Mark. Excellent tutorial. Easy to hit that like and thanks as guys are complementing your work, eh? Not really the most important thing, however.
Liking, thanking, commenting, providing advise and encouragement, engaging in conversations on OTHER people's work might be a good next move to become a participant here and not just a simple 'self-promoter'. More guys here than just you! Food for thought. YMMV

That's cool , I get it. Always have. And like I basically said here " try it, you may like it". Plenty of talent on the site that's for sure!
Now to just find the time to surf it as my "leisure time" is severely limited.

Mark, I appreciate your work and may only "like" it on one forum. I have been watching your progress for a few years now and its limit is is not yet reached. Keep us wondering "What is Next." Spending the time on line that I do as a retiree, I understand that you cannot be everywhere at once. A thanks, like, or PM to someone coming along will help them greatly.

You have opened up a large area of design and specialty which you personally will find it impossible to fill. It will take many people that still have to learn and be appreciated to fulfill those gaps with reasonable cost quality work.

I say these things from watching where custom and art knives have come over the last thirty years. There is a level for every player. Whether Straights will go so far, I do not know but the wish for exceptional items for pride of ownership and even investment is increasing.

Wishing I could afford your work!
~Richard
PS. Keep them coming!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Nice work, Mark. Excellent tutorial. Easy to hit that like and thanks as guys are complementing your work, eh? Not really the most important thing, however.
Liking, thanking, commenting, providing advise and encouragement, engaging in conversations on OTHER people's work might be a good next move to become a participant here and not just a simple 'self-promoter'. More guys here than just you! Food for thought. YMMV

Stop. Just stop.

Originally Posted by Steel

I remember the flack you got for not hitting a "thanks" button enough times. Silly world we live in. Maybe we should all be hitting the "thanks" button a bit more.

Originally Posted by Steel

Stop. Just stop.

Moi? .......................

Nothing wrong with attempting to get Mark to participate more in the forum, IMO.
Frankly, I feel he has LOTS more to offer than his (outstanding) work.
No hard feelings whatsoever!

Geezer, thank you. You have always been so kind and thoughtful with your posts. Will razors ever reach the level of knives? Who knows. Did anyone ever imagine knives to get where they are?
Will razors become as some knives have where they aren't so much for practical use as much as an art piece for display or collect? I guess anything is possible. But I for one, regardless how pretty it may be, still has to be used as intended.
And as you say there has to be a level for everyone. And there is. Same goes for building these things. I remember the day not long ago I built my first razor ( with pride!) and so the journey began .
The most important thing to take away from this whether it's your first razor or you have a few under your belt is to TRY. Don't be afraid of mistakes. They teach you more than anything. And they lead to new revelations.
Malcolm Gladwell recently said there is no real thing as natural talent. What he has discovered is if you're a concert pianist, artist, basketball player after all the people he interviewed is they just do whatever it is they do with passion and keep at it longer than the next guy.
Starting, then doing it over and over again until it becomes second nature will take you far.
You just have to take the first steps.

OMG Mark... I am in awe. I had no idea . Just outstanding! BTW would you be interested in investing in my Ivory farm? I have been searching the web for elephant sperm and used female pachyderm stock.