Jason R. Webb – Scrimshaw Heart

Jason R. Webb has recently shared a piece of scrimshaw he finished not long ago on an oval cabochon for a nurse.  The sequence is below from start to finish, and as you can see he does all of the scrimming before he adds the ink.  The tool appears to be a custom grind that has a steeper angle – an option if you contact Coulter Precision Tools. Jason writes:”…I use the stock 40° about half the time, but I also have Charles Coulter make me 30° and 35° extended tips for very fine lines. I tried a couple 20° tips but they snapped very easily as the carbide is brittle. The 30° are quite delicate, I really have to be conscious of the pressure, the point in the photo I sent you is a 30°. …” Thanks for sharing the pics Jason, your work is amazing!

Penciled in heart on ivory cabochon to the left, coin to the right for scale.
Penciled in Heart on ivory – no scribing yet. by Jason R. Webb

 

Coin and scrimshawed cabochon with Jason's scribing tool
Initial pre-inked shot showing Jason’s scribing tool.

 

Coin next to a scrimshawed cabochon of a human heart not colored in.
Jason R Webb’s Scrimshaw Heart. It looks 3 dimensional with the lighting, but it’s really detailed lines scribed into ivory.

 

Coin to the left and the inked cabochon to the right
The cabochon covered with ink. This works well for polished ivory, but other materials like bone and tagua nut may stain.

 

Scrimshaw Heart ivory pendant on the left, coin on the right. (C) 2014 by Jason R. Webb
Scrimshaw Heart by Jason R. Web finished heeart.
Closeup detail of the right side of the heart, and the left edge of the coin
Closeup of veins (he even has the shadows of the veins!)

3 thoughts on “Jason R. Webb – Scrimshaw Heart

    1. I use an optivisor with a #10 lens, so I have to keep my face a few inches from the piece while I’m scratching. The reason my line separation is so miniscule (with shading) is because I don’t put each individual line in a specific spot, I just use a quick but controlled hand motion, being careful to follow each curve. The majority of the time I can only use one eyeball to see what I’m doing, since I depend on the light’s reflection to see my scratches. If I close one eye, I can see the light and my scratches, if I switch eyes without moving my head, the reflection of the light isn’t there and I can’t see my scratches. I have 2 separate lamps now, I am going to see if this helps with my current project. When it is done I will send the photos to Andrew, thanks for the compliment on the heart:)

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