Question: A few questions about Scrimshaw preparation

[Artemiss]

Hi Folks,

I have loads of rubbish antler kicking about, so I decided to make a large key ring (to stop guests going home with the keys... again!) and scrim the house name onto it.

I just tried to sand an area of antler to scrimshaw, but the colouration isn't as even and light as I was hoping for. Is this because I haven't sanded enough, sanded too much, or am I wrongly expecting it to turn out as even as bone?
The antler is a couple years old so it's definitely dry.

Also, do I need to treat the antler with anything to stop the ink from bleeding into to antler?

Am I ok to use normal ink? I've read in some threads of people swearing that printer ink is the medium of choice, but I'm not sure why. Thicker?

Any advice gratefully received.

Jo

 

[John B.]

Jo,
That's the nature of deer antler. It is not very smooth and white.
If you sand deeply it gets into a very porous layer.
Most people only scrim pretty simple design on antler.
You can help to seal the pores a little by applying a couple of coats of Crazy glue (cyanoacrylate) and resanding after it dries otherwise the ink will stain the surface.
Oil based block printers ink works better for me, the stuff used on printing plates.
Best regards.

 

[KCSteve]

Over on Steve Lindsay's forums during one of the contests Katherine Plummer did a nice tutorial showing how she does her prep.

You do realize that if you do the really nice job we expect you to do that your guests will now want to take home your keys.

 

[KatherinePlumer]

Yup, what John B says. I am hoping more people with antler experience will chime in here too. I half-heartedly tried a piece of an antler tip once but really couldn't stand the texture, too porous/fibrous for me. Other parts of the antler may be better! I know it'll have to be sealed, but even so I'm not sure you'll get that really nice glassy smooth texture that lends itself to finely detailed scrimshaw.

I'm eager to see what you come up with!

-Katherine

 

[cwbyengraver]

If you used a power sander you might have got it to hot that will turn the color also on small antlers you cant go very deep 1/16" block sand it then use a cabinet scraper to take out the scratches then polish. the other thing to watch out for when you are sanding or polishing when you start to see tiny dark spots like pepper flakes only lighter you are about to go to deep.

 

[Les Riddell]

when ever i use antler (for scrim or jewellery) i put it in a paper cup full of polyester resin and then in the vacuum chamber for 5 min after i cut it to the finished size. then hang it to dry for a good 48 hours sand to 600 paper then polish with fabuluster. If you dont have a vac chamber let it dry in the cup then trim the xtra resin off. i know it sounds like alot of work but it is well worth it. super glue works well but when day is brittle and thin so great care must be taken when doing your scrim or you will make chips in the surface and not get fine detail.
hope this helps
Les

 

[Peter E]

Jo,
It won't be of use for those pieces in your picture, but if you can get the "buttons" and polish the surface, they can be extremely nice.

That is where the antler grows out of the skull including the bur or crown part of the antler. On some antlers it is very hard and little to no porosity. Sometimes bolos or belt buckles are made from those pieces.

 

[Lori Ristinen]

In my experience, the real problem with antler (at least deer antler) is if it is too old and dried out (if it's been laying around outdoors). It will feel dried out and kind of rough as well. Personally I wouldn't even try to get it in a scrimmable state (using superglue, etc.).

Otherwise, it can be sanded and polished up to a pretty nice shine and can be scrimmed with a lot of detail. Be careful not to sand too far down because it gets porous, and it is going to vary in color.

It's not anywhere near my favorite material for scrimshaw. It's certainly not the easiest to scrim. I used a lot of it when I was learning scrimshaw. It was cheap and I had lots of it.

Lori
www.LoriRistinen.com

 

[Artemiss]

Thanks for all the suggestions...

Being the impatient bint that I am, I did get stuck in to it yesterday after posting.
I sanded it as best I could, then realised it was no where near good enough, so found some 'wet and dry' and tried again, which was better.
I could see how porous the antler was so used some clear acrylic sealer. It dried almost immediately which was good.
Then I scratched the lettering in, and used a maker pen to black it out.
I then used some 'Brasso' metal polish to remove excess marker pen.

All in all, it was 'ok'. But I learnt quite a bit on the way, even though it didn't take to long.

1. A needle in a pin vice can sometimes be a little too flexible.
2. If you try to re-black and polish off a few times, the polish is quite abrasive so your design ends up being rubbed away!
3. Using a ball vice is gooooood!
4. Burnt antler doesn't smell good!

Again, a lot of folks mention printer ink, I'm still left wondering why. All I can think is that it's thicker, and as such it fills the scrimmed area? Much more durable? But takes a while to dry completely before removing excess?

KCSteve. Thanks for Katherine's tutorial mention, will take a look now. Also, yes did think about people going off with the key 'AND' the antler now. That's why I've only used scrubby little Roe antlers for now... If they disappear the next ones will be done using Red Antler... or maybe a full shoulder mount!!! lol

PeterE. Yep, that's why I cut the coronets off! I've seen these used for scrimshaw with a fair amount of success.

Thanks again for your help and suggestions,

Jo

 

[maplesm]

Try india ink and use rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to remove excess ink.
The super glue does work well to seal pours material with a coat or two of renaissance wax on top

 

[Artemiss]

Thanks Maplesm,

I guess one of the issues is the different trade names that are used between different countries.

I remember once reading an American book on tanning deer skins. It suggested I buy some Alum, which was 'easily' obtained in either pharmacies or more typically from garden centers! No one had a clue what I was talking about here in the UK! I found out after a fair amount of searching that Alum was basically Pot Ash, and yes it was easily bought in garden centers! Frustrating!

Anyway, what I'm getting around to asking is... what is rubbing alcohol and where would I likely find it?

And renaissance wax too? Would this be Bees wax floor polish?

Still interested in what the differences are between the different inks?

Many thanks,

Jo

BTW, great tutorial Katherine.

 

[mdengraver]

Cow Bone

I took a scrimshaw class a number of years ago at the Museum of Natural History in La. The teacher provided us with cow bone as I recall and it polished up well. We also used plastic piano keys.

 

[maplesm]

Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol. The wax is made by Picreator Enterprisees Ltd.
44 Park View Gardens
London NW4 2PN
many places carr the product in the US don't do much shopping in the UK

 

[Artemiss]

Maplesm,

Snap, done a bit of researching today too!

Rubbing Alcohol - used to sterilize items as well as being involved with piercings and tattoos
Renaissance Wax - Found with Jewellers rouge
Fabulustre - Jewellers Rouge - very fine polishing compound. Can be in powdered of liquid form.
Wet & Dry Paper 4000 - Can be bought from car detailing shops.

I also spoke to a guy in a printing shop today, regarding the differences between Inks.
Interesting, but pretty logical now I think about it.
'Printers' ink and 'etching' ink is much more viscous than what most of us class as 'printers/printing' ink. 'Printers' ink is used by printing companies. The object of which is for the ink to stick to the engraved printer plates of days gone by.
Confusion is pretty understandable, considering most people would think printers ink refers to Epsom or HP ink etc! Doh!

I found all the items above on a well known Auction site!

I'm sure 99% of you reading this know all the above info, however for all those, like me, who are complete novices and appreciate any info, I thought I'd share the info I found.

Cheers,

Jo