SR Johnson Big Bear engraved for Carlos Lopez by Barry Lee Hands shown at the Solvang

Barry Lee Hands · May 8, 2016

Many years ago, Steve Lindsay hooked me up with S R Johnson working on a knife for David Darom.
That has led to a series of colabs between SRJ and I including our most recent and spectacular Big Bear for Carl Lopez.
Below is a series of pics showing some of the design work and execution of the installation of the gold and diamonds.
for more info please go to:
http://knifetreasures.com/viewKnife.php?arg_id=1064&arg_selected_menu=1

The finished knife:

The original layout, with the main line of flow through the center:

More detail added:

Cutting the Layout on the soft blade:

First side cavities complete:

Second side cavities complete:

The piece is sent to heat treat and returns. The next step is the pearl.
Filing the pearl flush:

Sanding the pearl:

The pearl is ready:

JJ Roberts · May 8, 2016

Barry, Just the preposition time you spend on the polishing of pearl,inlaying and sculpting of the gold leaves and the engraving on the pearl is just amazing. J.J.

matthew.townsley · May 9, 2016

Always so good to see your work posted. The engraved background with the raised inlay is stunning.
Thank you for showing.

mvangle · May 9, 2016

Amazing work as always Barry!

Marrinan · May 9, 2016

Thank you Barry Lee for the photo essay. Quit a beautiful piece of art. Fred

monk · May 9, 2016

thanks, barry. i consider this as a gift for learning.

Barry Lee Hands · May 9, 2016

thank you for the interest, here is some more for you.

First we did the cavities for the gold in the pearl and undercut the edges, then inlay the gold stems:

Next we inlay the leaves which are made from sheet:

Then its sanded flat:

sculpted:

and shaded:

Barry Lee Hands · May 9, 2016

mvangle said:
Amazing work as always Barry!

Thanks Van.
I might mention, a detail that might go unnoticed is that during all of this work, the knife itself is rather lightly held, no glue, no thermoloc, - the knife is simply taped down with masking tape to a piece of wood held in the vise.

Tsu · May 9, 2016

Thank you for the sharing!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Barry Lee Hands · May 10, 2016

Thank you Tsu!

Jan Hendrik · May 11, 2016

Excellent as always! Thank you for sharing your technique with us all.
I am learning a lot through this.

Hot Knobs · May 11, 2016

Barry, that is just incredible workmanship, I would think that it is some trick to keep from chipping the pearl, and great work by Steve, Thanks for showing. Deane

monk · May 11, 2016

incredible stuff you do. i would think the pearl material would be quite friable or splintery. if such were to occur barry, is there a fix for the problem. seems to be a one-shot deal.

Barry Lee Hands · May 12, 2016

Thanks Jan.
Thanks Deane!

monk said:
incredible stuff you do. i would think the pearl material would be quite friable or splintery. if such were to occur barry, is there a fix for the problem. seems to be a one-shot deal.

Hi Monk, there is always a fix, if nothing else you can replace the pearl.
best policy is not to damage it in the first place.

Marcus Hunt · May 13, 2016

Great work Barry! Absolutely stunning. I was just wondering, is the MoP undercut to hold the gold?

Mike Fennell · May 14, 2016

Outstanding, Barry. And thanks for the great photos.

Barry Lee Hands · May 14, 2016

Marcus Hunt said:
Great work Barry! Absolutely stunning. I was just wondering, is the MoP undercut to hold the gold?

Hi Marcus, its very good to hear from you!
How are you?
Yes, undercut holds the gold in.

Barry Lee Hands · May 14, 2016

Mike Fennell said:
Outstanding, Barry. And thanks for the great photos.

And thank you Mike!

henningssom · May 15, 2016

Stunning Barry, really a beautiful piece. You are a true artist.
I like these close ups, you must have a steady hand.
How are you btw?

Barry Lee Hands · May 15, 2016

Thank you Michael!
All is well here, and you?

SR Johnson Big Bear engraved for Carlos Lopez by Barry Lee Hands shown at the Solvang

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