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Charcoal Retort B12-14
The wood for these two batches was completely dry and the process was correspondingly successful and efficient. The first batch was mixed split cedar and spruce from shop projects, and the second was mainly split spruce construction scraps. The burns were so efficient that there was time to complete two in one day, including the…
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Heart Brass Pair
Heavy reclaimed plate brass finds new value as a matched set of utensils with heart finials and textured steel handles.
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The Old School House
The Old School House (affectionately known as TOSH) is a community supported arts centre and gallery in Qualicum Beach.
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Saya Nomi
A piece of high carbon agricultural steel turned into a specialized Japanese wood chisel for carving the interior of a scabbard. A saya nomi is a special type of wood chisel for carving out the inside of a wooden scabbard and handle. It has a longer shaft with an offset and curved corners for cutting…
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Charcoal Retort V.2.0
Update: An Iwasaki style kiln is a much more efficient and long lasting way to make charcoal of better quality for bladesmithing, read about it here: Charcoal Kiln V.3.0 The simplicity of the design of the version 1 retort allowed us to start making charcoal very quickly, but the toll of high heat on the…
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Hooked Copper Spoons
Equally at home working in the kitchen or on display as kitchen bling, these spoons are crowned with delicate recurved hooks. These spoons are made from split copper water pipe and employ a traditional handle design that incorporates small hooks for storage. Three copper rivets made from discarded bonsai cable join the handle and bowl.…
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Nail Coffee Scoop
An elegant taper transforms a discarded spike nail into a handle with history for this copper scoop. Copper is one of the raw materials that were available to the original inhabitants of Vancouver Island. Add a touch of history and class to the brewing of the perfect espresso. The deep bowl is cut and hammered…
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Alder Letter Opener
Scrap steel barstock forged into a classic blade profile and pressure mounted in a piece of hand-carved driftwood. This is another piece that came out of the collaborative agricultural steel project. Raw material for this piece was reclaimed farm equipment from my grandparents’ farm. Made from lower carbon steel, this blade is not sharp and…
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Folding Letter Opener
Reclaimed agricultural steel forged into a hefty old-pattern lever folding blade with a soft contoured hand filed finish. This is another piece that came out of the collaborative agricultural steel project. Raw material for this piece was reclaimed antique farm equipment from my grandparents’ farm. The levered folding design is based on a very old…
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Dagger from the Sea
A desktop sculpture and conversation piece, this heavy duty double edged letter opener was forged from an ancient bolt from the sea. The raw material for this piece was another find from cleaning up the seaside at one of our beautiful Vancouver Island beaches. Recently I found a heavy duty bolt that seems to be…
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Wrought Iron Relic
Forged from an amazing piece of rough wrought iron pulled from the sea, this heavy duty letter opener is a piece of history. When I am at the beach I tend to pick up and bring away any rusty pieces of steel, partly to clean up the beach and help keep Vancouver Island beautiful, and…
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Alder Froe
An ancient tool used for splitting cedar into planks and shakes, made from a reclaimed leaf spring and alder driftwood. A froe is a splitting tool for making cedar bolts into shakes or even planks. It is held cutting edge down against the top of the block and struck with a wooden mallet into the…
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Walnut Houchou
A reclaimed harrow tooth combined with walnut and hand hammered copper to create a utility knife with Japanese style mounting. One of a pair designed in collaboration with a Japanese collector, this piece has been forged and shaped from entirely reclaimed materials and is mounted in the traditional Japanese manner using only a single bamboo…
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Charcoal Retort D. 7-9
Before and after… This weeks scrap wood generously provided by Chris and his crew again, who have always been more than willing to assist with my experiments. The major new development this week was not in the burn phase, but in the chop and sort phase of the process. Using some scrap 2×6 and a…
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Cedar and Steel Hanger
West coast memories: A unique piece of silvery weathered cedar contrasts with hand hammered and twisted steel key hooks. This commissioned work was a follow up request after a visit from the good doctor and contrasts silvery weathered Vancouver Island cedar with the dark tones of forged steel. Five hooks are arranged to provide ample…