Sunday, October 2, 2011

"Gothic": Evolution of a design

The moor oak for Robert arrived, but was unusable, too brittle. Will order from a different supplier.

But in order to test the design some more, I made another version in "full tang", with a Purple Heart Core and Olive Wood scales.

The Purple heart came as a thick board, I had to slice a part off - this took some precision handsaw work. Ever tried to saw a board in half, lengthwise, so you get two thinner boards? Not easy. Took me a while to file it flat so I could laminate the olive wood onto it.

It came out fantastic! The hard, tough Purple Heart allowed me to file the tip needle sharp, so the frame doubles as a "vampire stake". The grain of the olive wood comes out real well with the "female" curves I shaped this into. One of the nicest slingshots I made so far, and also one of the most ergonomical hammer grip frames.







22 comments:

  1. Sorry the ordered wood was such a disappointment as I really wanted to see a Gothic dark sling-shot. The 'female' form of this is unique and interesting, but unless you intend to dye this a darker shade, in my mind, it loses some of it's Gothic aspect. Nevertheless, holding such a curveous 'body' in my hand interests me. :) BTW, how goes the work for the Da Venci crossbow? Could you give us an update? All the best to you and yours.

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  2. Hmmm... a slingshot that doubles in hand to hand combat... i like it

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  3. The "Da Vinci" idea has been offered to a German TV show by the guys from Tapefilm. No decision yet. I'd love to find a TV show that coughs up the expense, as this will be a 3 to 5 k (Euros) project.

    I agree, the Gothic aspect is lost, but the knotty appearance fits so well together with the curvy olive wood.

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  4. looks very nice but aren't you worried about the thin handle near the fork?

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  5. Actually for me the 'Gothic' part isn't lost in your design, the dark purple core with the lighter olive wood scales is reminiscent of a cameo locket, the curves you have shaped into the weapon, as well as the needle point of the handle itself make it a piece that seems to speak of deep buried passion underneath the grip of seeming innocence with a lethality that is readily evident even before the weapon is made ready to fire; a very 'old school' sensuous look that doesn't require black. Mayhaps a couple of choice bits of metal hardware but even then that might be gilding the lily, so to speak.

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  6. At the risk of sounding vulgar, I have never met a 'nice' female body that wasn't perfectly ergonomic, and yes, I preferred a full hammer grip! :) And since the female is the deadlier of the two genders, of course it has a deadly point in the end. It is there should it ever be needed. Funny how Mother Nature does things. :)

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  7. The Purple Heart and Olive wood is a great combo!!

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  8. Super nice, love the contrast in the wood.

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  9. wow, i truly love it. i bet it feels great to hold

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  10. Very Nice!
    dang Jorge you just keep getting better and better!

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  11. Yellow :)
    Well it lost “goth look” but I think overall the frame looks better :) Now it’s more like Monica Belluci playing The Queen of Mirrors: tasty and dangerous.
    But no risk no fun :-D
    Cheers
    Rafal

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  12. Looks awesome! How do you manage to make everything so symmetrical and smooth.

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  13. looks like it can be a push dagger! very neat!

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  14. Misha1997, the precision of the hand comes with practice, and practice alone.

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  15. I don't think I like these slingshots as much a I like some of the other ones you've made, I would neve try to stab someone with a slingshot, I would stab them with my knife. I'm actually making a slingshot out of a fork from a tree I fell; but wood is not made for stabbing, You stab with metal.

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  16. The "sting" is really for the looks. This is a showpiece, and also a very functional slingshot - not a stabbing weapon.

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  17. Looks nice. I like the Figure and contrast of the woods.

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  18. Are there any concerns about stability? I love the use of those two different species!

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