This Just In

[Andy]

Here are a couple shots of a knife in progress. I'll update the post with some shots of the spine when I get it done.

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Andy

You have excelled yourself on this one. FANTASTIC and WOW are two words that come to mind. I'll look forward to the rest of the photos.

Best wishes
Andrew Biggs

[Steve Lindsay]

Andy... Wow! I love the border layout with the scroll. Did you use the air eraser for the gray background part? Everything about it... Very beautiful!!! Steve

[John Barraclough]

Wonderful,wonderful piece of artwork, Andy.
A bases loaded home run! Congratulations.
John.

[Andy]

Thanks guys,
Yes, Steve, I used the air eraser on the small background areas.

[Harold]

WoW, Very Nice Artwork.

[Jin-e]

Very nice work... I like the leaf work there (if that is what you call it)

-B Shaw

[ChrisB]

Very Beautifull !! andy,
What is a Air Eraser, A kind of Sand Blaster ?

A True Artist Indeed !!

ChrisB

[Andy]

The Air Eraser is a mini bead blaster used by air brush artists to selectively erase parts of their art work. It can be temperamental to use but beats using something overly heavy. They only cost about $70 through art supply stores.

[Rhrocker]

Fantastic Andy. What is the final treatment for the actual gold? When I enlarge it, it seems to have a fine sanded finish, and not a finish from the air eraser. Great shading!

[Andy]

Robert.....let's see...
first I finished the the whole knife to a uniform 400 grit finish before shading. Then after shading I noticed some marks on the gold. Rather than try to refinish the gold alone without affecting the shaded areas I used the Air Eraser with some very fine compound. I wasn't entirely thrilled with the appearance of that so I lightly dragged some 3000 grit paper over the entire piece. It was just enough to take the frost off the gold without bothering the shade lines. Way more than I intended :willy_nilly: The Air Eraser was only intended for the darker grey areas on the handle.

[ron]

Andy .. again great work you are a true artist in your field and a master knife maker . question !!! i like your effects that you got with the air eraser i do some thing like it but i use feriot cloride , what do to think about ferriot cloride .. Ron p.

[Andy]

Hi Ron,
I have used Ferric Chloride for similar effects before. I've used it to darken the scrolls at times.

[Dave London]

wow beautiful, thanks for showing

[KDavid]

what is ferric chloride and where do you get it??

[Andy]

Radio Shack sells it as a PC Circuit board etchant

[Rhrocker]

Originally Posted by Andy

Robert.....let's see...
first I finished the the whole knife to a uniform 400 grit finish before shading. Then after shading I noticed some marks on the gold. Rather than try to refinish the gold alone without affecting the shaded areas I used the Air Eraser with some very fine compound. I wasn't entirely thrilled with the appearance of that so I lightly dragged some 3000 grit paper over the entire piece. It was just enough to take the frost off the gold without bothering the shade lines. Way more than I intended :willy_nilly: The Air Eraser was only intended for the darker grey areas on the handle.

Andy, many thanks for this explanation Buddy! I think your art is superb. I'd say you fit right in with the top 10 here, I think I'm about 567:willy_nilly:
Robert

[Otto]

That is some of the classiest engraving I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing.

[rbailo]

Hi Andy,

Superb work thanks for sharing and sparking a very useful exchange on techniques.

Rich