[JoergS]

... and through distant skies came the Lady of the Ash.

The humble acolyte of the slingshot cult meditated for hours in time until he began the ritual of transformation.

First he carefully removed the worn clothes from the body of the beauty.

The acolyte suddenly saw the hidden features, well embedded in a wooden shell.

Like Maestro Michelangelo experienced ages ago, the acolyte knew his mission. The beauty had to be freed from her imprisonment.

After many hours of hard work, the shape of the Lady became obvious for the first time.

At the end of the day, the Lady was beautiful and smooth. The acolyte will cover her in a shiny new coat to underline her features.

--------------

Seriously, the second fork The Gopher sent me was a challenge.

The first one, I simply forced my Phoenix design onto it, just because I could. This time, I wanted to leave the original curves intact, just carve it into something really unique. The handle was longer on this one, so I added a very unusual eye for a lanyard.

As soon as I have coated it in Polyurethane, the grain will come out much more, it will look like it is wet. The other one looks soo nice now.

I never did much with naturals, but this kind of excessive processing has a lot of appeal.

I hope you like it!

Jörg

 

[John-Boy]

It amazes me what you can do with a bit of spare time!!

 

[Rock and Shoot]

That is pure art right there!!! Call the Smithsonian and tell them to make room for this one...

 

[BaneofSmallGame]

There we go Joerg way to jump on the natural fork band wagon!!!

It's really a treat to both pick out a natural from a throng of forks on a big tree, cut it, and then envision what you want it to be in the future. I have recently gotten into carving my naturals into a perfectly ergonomic frame that melts in my hand. I can get the rough shape then hold it as I would and mark where I need to carve and shape to my liking. This way, and with no power tools, the finished product is so much more special in my opinion. Seeing as you hand picked it from the start and made do with its shape to make it ideal for yourself.

You have taken that to a whole new level and have done it well.

Oh yes, and did I mention, that fork is beautiful!

Its a harmonious blend between the phoenix, the slim U, and the wonders of nature. Keep it up my friend, you are making pretty forks harvested by Gopher into supermodels!

Cheers - John

 

[Dayhiker]

Hey, Joerg: Two ash forks came to me from that same mysterious source. . . Now I gotta compete with that???

Drat, drat, and double drat!!!

 

[The Gopher]

hey DH they came from the same tree to boot!

Joerg, i am flattered to see what you were able to produce from those forks!

great job, just beautiful!

 

[JoergS]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

Dayhiker, I am sure you will live up to the challenge!

Gopher, can you PM me your address? I want to send you some stuff in return, and my wife already recycled your box...

Jörg

 

[lucifer93]

The shape reminds me of the David Beckham Angel tattoo.

 

[shot in the foot]

That has to be the one i like of yours the most, a nice set of Dans bands on that will set it off nicely, it would be a nice one to have cast in meltal as well, jeff

 

[JoergS]

By the way, it was a bit fresh. The first one was probably froma a dead branch, it was very dry and there have been a few wormholes. But this one was hard to debark, it was still soft and green.

I microwaved it properly until all of the moisture evaporated.

Already applied the first polyurethane coat.

Jörg

 

[The Gopher]

can you explain the microwave process you did? did you microwave before or after bebarking, and for how long? can you visually see when no more water is coming out?

Thanks Joerg

PM sent.

 

[JoergS]

First, I debark the frame so the humidity can freely evaporate.

Then I weigh the frame with a letter scale.

Then, I put the frame into the microwave and give it 2 minutes at 600 W.

When you do that to a freshly cut fork, steam will come out of the frame!

You let it cool a few minutes and weigh it again. It will have lost about 10% of its weight.

Then you give it another minute at 600 W. Another break, another wave, and on and on.

Note that the microwave heats from the inside, so keep nice long breaks between the microwaving, otherwise the wood turns into smoldering charcoal without you noticing it (as the surface may still look OK).

Keep weighing it. As soon as a minute of microwaving does not lighten the fork by more than 3%, you are done. Depending on the wood, a fresh fork can loose 40 to 60% of its original weight. It may take 7 to 10 sessions to get to that point.

The fork you sent me was half dry, so one two minute session and two one minute sessions have been sufficient to dry it out.

 

[whipcrackdeadbunny]

I just sent you a message about your naturals, now I want I video on all your recent ones!

 

[Mtnfolk Mike]

wow... that looks great Joerg... nice work once again...

 

[The Gopher]

and since it is drying from the inside out, there shouldn't be any cracking?

i could use this on slabs of green wood as well, assuming that it will fit in my microwave.

 

[JoergS]

Cracks will happen if you keep the microwave periods too long and/or the breaks too short. Ideally, the fork should have fully cooled before the next heating.

 

[Holzwurm]

@ JoergS

Read about that microwave process , when I was about to go to my lateshift work yesterday , .........I 've intended to ask about it later but now I see , that you've already provided all the info about it , ........just like to say "thank you" for that , ........haven't heard about this process before , gotta try this some day(when my wife's not in

) .

I like the way that you've worked out that beautifully shaped slingshot frame from that rather chunky fork , turned out very beautiful , just everything matches , .........a great inspiration !

greetz , Holzwurm

 

[JoergS]

Have now coated her in polyurethan, polished to a glass like shine.

I added strong paracord as a lanyard and also I attached my favourite bands for the 8 mm ammo, real thin TB gold.

I am quite pleased with the outcome, one of the nicest frames I have in my collection.

Jörg

 

[The Gopher]

Beautiful work! Glad i could be a part of it!

 

[Holzwurm]

@ JoergS

Turned out really beautiful and somewhat elegant , too , ..........just great work

!

greetz , Holzwurm