Posted on

Corrino Lion Crest From Dune

Worn by the The Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV and his Sardaukar troopers. This crest identifies the Corrino, a golden lion crest.

“My father, the Padishah Emperor, was 72 yet looked no more than 35 the year he
encompassed the death of Duke Leto and gave Arrakis back to the Harkonnens. He
seldom appeared in public wearing other than a Sardaukar uniform and a Burseg’s
black helmet with the imperial lion in gold upon its crest. The uniform was an
open reminder of where his power lay. He was not always that blatant, though.
When he wanted, he could radiate charm and sincerity, but I often wonder in
these later days if anything about him was as it seemed. I think now he was a
man fighting constantly to escape the bars of an invisible cage. You must
remember that he was an emperor, father-head of a dynasty that reached back into
the dimmest history. But we denied him a legal son. Was this not the most
terrible defeat a ruler ever suffered? My mother obeyed her Sister Superiors
where the Lady Jessica disobeyed. Which of them was the stronger? History
already has answered.
-“In My Father’s House” by the Princess Irulan”

Hand carved and cast in lead free pewter. Perfect for Cosplay, or if you just want to put a sweet Dune inspired piece of jewelry on your jacket or other heavy sweater. (not recommended for light fabrics as it has some weight to it)

See how they were made and more pictures here: If you really like it you can buy it here

Continue reading Corrino Lion Crest From Dune

Posted on

Thing A Week 4: Borax Red Jewlery

I have occasionally in my goofing around with torch and flux turned a piece of copper bright red. I had no idea how I had accomplished it, and chocked it up to a fluke of chemistry.  The color however was gorgeous, and I was sad I couldn’t recreate it….that was until I stumbled upon the hidden knowledge of the Borax Red Patina.

It’s super simple, you just take some water, dissolve as much Borax (20 mule team Borax from the store works just fine), heat your copper up till its bright red, and dunk it in the water.  The finish is very rugged and wont wear off, but it is heat sensitive, so make sure you only do cold forming after the treatment, if you need to solder anything on its going to be a little tricky.

 

I played around with the technique for a while and found it rather fun to just make the copper red, you can lightly polish it after to bring out the redness and make it more interesting.

I ended up making an earring and pendant set.  Its all pretty rough, as I was just sort of playing around, but I am glad I figured out the technique and will use it again in the future.









 

 

Posted on

DIY Branding Iron

A friend in the bakery business wanted to be able to brand her bread to give it a little more flair.  So I whipped up this quick and dirty bread brand.

20160529_175832

Cut out the T from 16 gauge brass, it was the thickest I had, if I could have found thicker I would, but turned out ok.

20160529_175848

Solder on some hollow copper pipe, again what I had on hand, with a nice strong joint using high temp solder.

20160529_175957

Looking good so far, now for a handle.


20160530_075805
Drilled a hole in a hard wood dowel and used a mix of friction fit and CA glue to hold it in place.

20160530_075848

Getting ready to try it.

20160530_075938

Get yourself a nice slice of home made sour dough bread.

20160530_080008

Heat that bad boy up for 30-50 seconds till the end of the pipe near the handle is too hot to touch.  Make sure you keep the flame moving around the whole time.

20160530_080440

You will know its hot enough if the bread smokes when you touch it to the bread.

20160530_080931

Gets pretty gross, but doesn’t affect how it works, just burn off all the gross and go again!

No bread is safe!

Posted on

Making Some Crow Feather Earrings

Here are some process shots from the latest group of earrings I made.

iss_fullxfull.3027775_r22abp3o

First I print out the design, and then cut and rubber cement it to the copper plate.

iss_fullxfull.3039594_ffwxpz0s

iss_fullxfull.3029869_jbx91phn

the design is cut out using a jewelers saw, then you file and polish the burs off.

iss_fullxfull.3041670_rya4tahn

The feathers ready and prepped for soldering.  Silver ear posts are also soldered on during this stage.

iss_fullxfull.3043532_ay5hbvm0

After the brass wire is soldered down the middle, tiny feather marks are made using a small hand made chisel.

iss_fullxfull.3032145_jezga2d6

Liver of sulfur is used to patina the feathers and give them a nice dark color.

iss_fullxfull.3044146_417s9y7a

All done!  You can buy a pair here.